Chapter 1583 Taking the initiative
In this general environment at the beginning of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Ming Dynasty and Haihan, there were indeed many people from all walks of life who wanted to take advantage of the troubled waters. Among them, people like Wang Hao who took advantage of the opportunity to defraud did not have much technical content in their methods, and they were not lucky enough to meet them. For a smart guy like Xun Pengcheng who knows a little bit about all sorts of things, he naturally has no choice but to admit defeat. However, as Ren Liang said, if we want to put an end to deception as soon as possible by taking advantage of the establishment of diplomatic relations, we can only quickly let the real owner come to Sanya to appear, so as to prevent people who do not know the truth from being deceived.
However, Schneider believed that some small-scale scams among the people were harmless. At present, the overall situation should be given priority. Since the Ming envoys were still in Guangzhou, there was no need to urge the other party, so as not to lose the initiative in subsequent negotiations. The later the other party starts formal contact, the more time Haihan will have to make arrangements in all aspects and gain the upper hand in as many areas as possible that require negotiation.
For example, in terms of the financial system that Schneider is in charge of, the currency deposit and exchange business between Haihan and Daming is one of the issues that need to be negotiated by both parties. Although Haihan is not strong enough to use such means to control the economic lifeline of the Ming Dynasty, at least in the coastal areas that Haihan can currently influence, his advantages in financial systems and operating methods can indeed effectively help Haihan. The Han Dynasty conducted trade activities more conveniently within the Ming Dynasty. Especially for some non-public money transactions, it is much smoother and safer to go through Haihan Bank than the local banks in Daming. This is why Haihan institutions in Zhejiang and other places have been trying to integrate the local financial industry some time ago. main reason.
Not everyone in Ming Dynasty noticed this kind of infiltration with a certain purpose. There were also some insightful people in the imperial court who suggested that Haihan financial institutions should be strictly prohibited from operating in the Ming Dynasty, and the currency issued by Haihan should not be circulated in the Ming Dynasty. However, due to various reasons, these measures were ultimately stuck in the Ministry of Household Affairs. can be successfully promoted and implemented. However, the Haihan financial system, headed by banks, continued to operate in the Ming Dynasty, continuously transporting gold, silver and other precious metals to Haihan.
It is conceivable that after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Ming Dynasty will inevitably make some demands in this regard, and Schneider hopes to be able to annex as many local banks and other financial institutions in Ming Dynasty as possible, and take the initiative first, so that even if Ming Dynasty has Ideas may also be unable to be implemented due to the actual situation.
Methods like this are not only applied in the financial field, but also in trade, politics, and military. Haihan is making efforts in all fields. However, the size of Ming Dynasty is too big after all. Haihan wants to play the snake and swallow the elephant. The method will definitely not work in the short term, but at least it can gain more initiative and leave some room for future actions.
However, Tao Donglai still prefers to deal with public security issues first, especially the recent intensification of fraud cases, which have begun to become a dangerous factor affecting social stability in Sanya.
"As long as there is a successful fraud, it may affect Daming's reputation in our country." Tao Donglai said: "Although Daming's reputation does not matter to us, considering that we will need to work with Daming for a long time in the future. To maintain a cooperative relationship, we must protect their reputation from such damage as much as possible.”
"What does Mr. Tao mean?" Ren Liang was so shrewd that he immediately understood that Tao Donglai was about to give instructions, and quickly followed up with questions.
"Let's crack down hard on fraudulent activities based on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Ministry of Justice will take the lead and carry out a special governance operation, mobilize the propaganda media, and have the effect of killing chickens and warning monkeys." Tao Donglai immediately threw out the own thoughts.
"Then the liars who have been caught will be dealt with severely and quickly?" Ren Liang asked. In fact, this kind of severe crackdown has been implemented in Sanya for a long time, but the security issues targeted will be different each time.
Tao Donglai nodded and said: "Just follow the previous rules."
The so-called previous rule was to severely sentence offenders for their crimes during the crackdown period. For a case like fraud and attempted fraud, the maximum sentence would be one year of hard labor on a normal day, but if it is during a severe crackdown, the sentence will inevitably be doubled. Coupled with the crime of impersonating an envoy from the Ming Dynasty, the punishment for those involved will definitely be severe.
In accordance with the instructions of the Executive Committee, the Ministry of Justice quickly launched a special rectification operation, and the first to bear the brunt were several relevant prisoners who had been detained in prison, including Wang Hao, who was exposed by Xun Pengcheng.
The Ministry of Justice specially arranged a public trial for this purpose. Although Xun Pengcheng was not required to appear as a witness during the trial, the Ministry of Justice still notified him to be present. In the autumn breeze of early October, Xun Pengcheng, together with more than 3,000 other people who were watching, witnessed the vigorous and resolute methods of the Haihan Ministry of Justice.
The first trial was another fraud case. Two swindlers claimed to be secret envoys sent by the Ming Dynasty. The purpose of coming to Hainan Island was to retrieve a large amount of priceless treasures buried on the island for the court. Of course, digging out these treasures will definitely require certain operating expenses, so these two people asked their fraud targets to come up with a certain amount of funds for turnover, and then took the opportunity to swallow the money and leave. Although this kind of deception is primitive, it can still deceive ignorant people.
The advantage of two people going out together is that they can cover each other. Originally, the two of them had defrauded money, and even if they were caught, it would only be a crime of fraud. Everything was prepared that day, but the person who was deceived couldn't bear the psychological stimulation because of the huge loss, and ended up losing his life. The two people also wanted to flee to the South China Sea, but they were stopped by the police and immediately interrogated to find out the flaws.
Although the victim committed suicide when the crime occurred and could no longer serve as a witness, the investigation of this case was not difficult. After verifying the facts of the case, the court gave its verdict on the spot and sentenced both criminals to death by firing squad, life for life. Although the two criminals cried out that they were wronged, there was no Shang Fang sword that could save them. They were immediately taken to the execution ground by the military police for execution.
This kind of public trial eliminates most of the evidence and defense stages, so it proceeds very quickly. The case is introduced and the verdict is announced in one go, leaving very limited time for the person under trial to defend himself. If you don't think about your defense wording before the trial, you'll basically have to stretch your neck and wait for the verdict.
Xun Pengcheng was a little emotional after watching the trial process. As a former journalist, he had also attended the public trials of some cases and roughly knew what the court process was like. Judging from today's trial process, Xun Pengcheng believes that this is basically the official's intention to deal with these prisoners quickly and use heavier penalties to deter those in society who are still ready to take action.
The second case that was publicly tried was the case of Wang Hao impersonating the Ming Dynasty envoy reported and seized by Xun Pengcheng. During the public trial, Xun Pengcheng did not need to appear in person, and the public prosecutor stated his testimony on his behalf. Wang Hao in the dock was obviously no longer as high-spirited as he was back then, and his face was as pale as paper. He thought that his life in prison was not going to be easy. Wang Hao's fraud methods were inherently crude, and with the presence of both witnesses and physical evidence, there was no room for denial. He had no other choice but to plead guilty. In the end, the judge announced that although the criminal had failed in his attempt to defraud, because his behavior of impersonating an envoy from the Ming Dynasty was extremely bad in nature and had a very bad impact, and the amount involved amounted to tens of thousands, Wang Hao was finally sentenced to three years of hard labor in accordance with the sentencing principles of Haihan Criminal Law.
Wang Hao probably didn't quite understand what Haihan's hard labor meant, and was still a little confused after hearing the verdict. But Xun Pengcheng knew that the hard labor camps set up by Haihan in various places had extremely high labor intensity, and many people could not survive three years at all. With a body like Wang Hao's, he might be exhausted within a month of entering, and three years of hard labor would basically mean that he would never be reunited.
Of course, Xun Pengcheng had no regrets about Wang Hao. The other party was determined to deceive Wang Hao into bankruptcy, and now it was only natural for him to be sent to a hard labor camp. Regardless of whether old friends like Wang Hao can survive three years of hard labor, it is best not to meet again in the future.
But after this delay, Xun Pengcheng's original plan to inspect plantations in the north of Hainan Island had to be temporarily shelved. Fortunately, although this fraud caused him some trouble, he did not suffer direct financial losses, and he could still keep his investment plan.
Although Wang Hao's case has ended, Xun Pengcheng encountered another wonderful thing - "Sanya Express" was preparing to write a report on Wang Hao's case, and the main interviewee was naturally his client. .
Xun Pengcheng didn't know where the newspaper found out about his influence in this case, but as a former practitioner, he certainly wouldn't be as excited as ordinary citizens about having the opportunity to report. Xun Pengcheng made two demands to the newspaper. First, the identity must be kept confidential. Second, the newspaper needs to pay a remuneration. Only after agreeing to these two points can he accept an exclusive interview.
Of course the new editor-in-chief of the newspaper also recognized Xun Pengcheng, but it had been many days since Xun Pengcheng had resigned, and it was too late to get close. The first request is simple, just agree to it. But the second request was a bit troublesome. At first, the editor-in-chief offered Xun Pengcheng a price of fifty yuan, but Xun Pengcheng refused without even thinking about it. This amount of money was not enough for him to have two big meals out, and he Why take unnecessary risks for this.
After the price was finally increased to 200, Xun Pengcheng finally agreed to be interviewed, and then revealed some of the inside story of the case. As for whether the newspaper will gain big sales because of these revelations, that is not Xun Pengcheng's concern.
But the problem is that there is no airtight wall in the world. Just when Xun Pengcheng was preparing to arrange his trip and start again, the express report published the inside story of Wang Hao's fraud case. This case has already become a hot topic in society recently after the public trial, which is why Express News chose this topic. Because of Xun Pengcheng's first-hand information, the content of the report was far more detailed than previous reports in other newspapers. As soon as it was published, this topic that had already begun to lose popularity was put back on the hot list. .
The Ministry of Security, which has always paid attention to public opinion, also noticed this sign again. However, when the Police Department investigated the case before, the Ministry of Security did not intervene. Instead, it noticed some possible intelligence security loopholes after seeing the Express report. . After asking the Police Department to learn more about the case, the Ministry of Security discovered that the person involved in the case, Xun Pengcheng, was also the subject of previous investigations.
However, it is obviously unreasonable why a tabloid reporter who has just resigned would become the target of a charlatan, unless the charlatan is blind, or Xun Pengcheng behaved in a manner inconsistent with his identity during the contact with him. His financial resources led him to mistakenly believe that Xun Pengcheng was a rich man, which led to the subsequent fraud amounting to tens of thousands of yuan.
After Xu Shiqi summarized what he learned, he also felt that this matter was a bit strange, but he also remembered that when he was investigating Xun Pengcheng because of the Ma Dalan envoy showing off his wealth, he had also checked this person's financial situation, and No big deal, but why did the con man mistakenly think he was a rich man?
"Go to the Police Department and take a look at the investigation files on this case." Xu Shiqi was a person who couldn't get rid of the trouble in his eyes. Once he found any doubts, he had to get to the bottom of it, so he sent someone to the Police Department to check the files.
This case has been pronounced and executed, and naturally the Police Department will no longer keep the files that the Security Department wants to borrow confidential. After getting it back, Xu Shiqi read the transcript carefully, and then noticed new doubts.
According to Xun Pengcheng's confession, after he and Wang Hao met at the pier, he invited Wang Hao to have lunch. According to Xu Shiqi's impression, the place where they went to eat was not cheap. At least based on Xun Pengcheng's previous occupation, it was a bit difficult to entertain guests in a restaurant of this level. This may be Wang Hao's misunderstanding. That's why Xun Pengcheng is a rich man.
The Police Department's investigation focused on Wang Hao's deception, while Xu Qiqi's attention was on how an unemployed reporter suddenly became a rich man. The file did not indicate the amount of consumption that day. It only mentioned that Xun Pengcheng paid the bill on the first day. The two met here for a meal the next day and Wang Hao paid the bill. After eating, the two went together. Went to the bank, and then Xun Pengcheng managed to expose Wang Hao's scam in the bank.
"Go to the restaurant to find out how much Xun Pengcheng and Wang Hao spent on those two meals." Xu Shiqi kept doing it and wanted to get to the bottom of this matter.
The subordinate was about to leave after receiving the order, but Xu Shiqi stopped him again: "Wait! You can stop by the bank and ask them to check Xun Pengcheng's account to see if he has really become a rich man. .”
(End of chapter)