Chapter 1784 Stumbling Block
Although He Xiao is not afraid of Jinyiwei, he is still worried that the sudden appearance of hundreds of households will disrupt the current business. Most of the grain he asked He Li to buy was already on its way to Ningbo. If Jin Yiwei caused trouble and stopped these grain transport teams on the road, delaying the Haihan people's important event, then he would inevitably have to bear the corresponding responsibility. .
He Xiao has been dealing with the Haihan people for more than two years, and he has a relatively good understanding of the Haihan people's behavior. He knows that these people do things with clear rewards and punishments, and cannot be careless. If you do things for them, you will naturally make a fortune if you do them well, but if you mess with them, Haihan people are not easy to talk to. In normal business, if something unexpected happens, it will be delayed for a few days, and you can just say good words and pay some money. But this time, the Haihan military has designated the purchase of military rations. The two brothers voted for this bid, which is equivalent to issuing a military order to the Haihan people. If something goes wrong, it won't be a matter of losing money. Maybe even his backer Qu Yutong will be affected by this.
And say hello to Haihan in advance, so that if something goes wrong, you can put the blame on the troublesome Jin Yiwei Baihu. Every wrong has its owner, and every debt has its owner. If the people of Haihan want to pursue the case afterwards, they will naturally go to Deng Qing. of trouble. And based on the past practices of the Haihan people, it is not unusual for them to take drastic measures because of this incident. After all, in their eyes, Jin Yiwei is not a great person.
He Xiao handed the matter over to He Li and hurried back to the magistrate's office. This matter could be big or small, and he had to prepare a case with his superiors before it was safe. If Deng Qing causes trouble again, the prefect's Yamen will not be passive.
"Jinyiwei? Don't you usually give them a lot of money? How come these people are not satisfied!" After hearing He Xiao's report, Qu Yutong couldn't help but feel a little angry: "I have raised a dog for two years and I know how to shake it at the owner. It’s too late, these people are so ungrateful... How much money do they plan to ask for this time?”
"Sir, the person who came forward this time was not the Jinyiwei stationed in Ningbo, but a Baihu named Deng from Nanjing." He Xiao quickly added: "It seems that he is not from the same group as the one stationed there. When he came to see me, I didn’t bring the local people with me either.”
"Oh? From Nanjing..." After hearing this, Qu Yutong naturally figured out the special meaning in it. If the Jinyiwei specially sent people from Nanjing to investigate Haihan's large-scale purchase of military rations in the market, it would obviously mean that they were worried about the manpower stationed in the local area. And the Jinyiwei who were bribed by them might not be able to do so at all now. I know someone is coming to Nanjing.
"Then what do you think his real purpose is?" Qu Yutong asked noncommittally. Jinyiwei investigates the case, and the matter can be big or small. If it is really aimed at the Haihan people, then it doesn't matter if he is left to touch the wall. Even if he finds out something about the Haihan people, it will not be able to shake the current overall situation. Besides, the trade between the two countries involves the interests of many high-ranking figures. The beneficiaries in Zhejiang alone are far more than just him and Qu Yutong. Even if Jin Yiwei holds privileges, it is impossible to offend local high-ranking officials on a large scale.
What Qu Yutong is really worried about is that Jin Yiwei's move is Xiangzhuang's sword dance and is aimed at Peigong. It is obviously to investigate the Han people's purchase of military rations, but the real purpose is to cause trouble for him.
This is not that Qu Yutong has persecution delusions or is unfounded, but that the position of Ningbo magistrate he is sitting under is really hot. There are many people who are coveting it openly and secretly. I don’t know how many people want to take this position. Sit by yourself.
The reason is of course very simple. Ningbo Prefecture is now the place with the largest import and export trade on the Ming Dynasty coastline north of the Fujian Strait. The wealth circulating here in a year is even much more than the income of the Ming Dynasty treasury. Being a local official here is almost equivalent to being an official sitting on a golden mountain. You can grab a lot of money just by reaching out your hand. Naturally, some people will be thinking about Qu Yutong's official position.
However, it is not an easy task to remove Qu Yutong from the position of Ningbo magistrate. First of all, Qu Yutong played a great role in maintaining stability in Zhejiang. This is an objective fact generally recognized by Zhejiang officials. In 1635, when the Haihan army came to Hangzhou and war was about to break out, it was he who actively contacted the Haihan people in Ningbo, thus gaining valuable opportunities for negotiation. Later, he married a senior official from Haihan, which was equivalent to setting up a private communication channel between the two countries. This personal advantage of communicating with senior officials from Haihan was even more difficult to replace.
Secondly, Qu Yutong himself was very concerned about maintaining his current position, investing a lot of financial resources and energy, and even gave up the opportunity to be promoted for this reason. He saw very clearly that if he was transferred to the Zhejiang Provincial Government Office and promoted to half a level from the fourth-grade magistrate, he would probably join the political position from the third-grade to the left. If he was transferred to the capital, he might be able to upgrade half a level at a time and join the Sixth Department as a third-grade minister. But for him, it was far less rewarding than staying in Ningbo as an official. The contact with the Haihan people had opened his horizons, and he no longer limited his future to a higher official position.
Qu Yutong has now found a good role model, that is Xu Xinsu of Fujian. It only took him ten years to climb from a small navy commander to the position of Fujian commander-in-chief. There is certainly a lot of luck in this. Important, but even more important is that Xu Xinsu successfully hugged Haihan's thick leg, and has cooperated closely with Haihan over the years. The help from Haihan was indispensable in her rise to the top.
Qu Yutong believed that his starting point was much higher than that of Xu Xinsu, a maritime merchant who paid for an official position, and Zhejiang's economic foundation was far better than that of Lingnan. Since Xu became the local emperor of Fujian in ten years, he was successful. The experience is in front of him, so there is no reason for him to lose to the person named Xu, and he should do better and achieve greater achievements.
The reality is that the situation is developing in the direction envisioned by Qu Yutong. After marrying Shi Diwen, Haihan's senior official in Zhoushan, Qu Yutong received the full trust and full support from Haihan and used crazy Build wealth quickly. After having enough money on hand, he can implement many methods according to his wishes to increase his influence in Ningbo Prefecture and even Zhejiang. Bribing the Jinyiwei spies stationed in Ningbo to turn a blind eye to various irregular operations here is just one of the tasks.
Although Qu Yutong's official position remains unchanged today, in fact his influence is no longer limited to Ningbo Prefecture. When dealing with diplomatic issues related to Haihan, even Zhejiang Chief Envoy Wang Jihe commanded the envoys Liu Feng often needs Qu Yutong's opinions as a reference for decision-making. In the Ningbo Prefecture, Qu Yutong did have a vague attitude of a local emperor, almost to the extent of obeying his words, so even his staff He Xiao dared not give in to the outside Jinyiwei officers.
Qu Yutong has support from Haihan, and he has a relatively clear personal development plan. He will not leave Ningbo voluntarily. It is naturally extremely difficult for others to make room for him, at least on the surface, it is difficult to work. And Qu Yutong did not get carried away because of the current success. He was always wary of assassinations from the official circles. For the uninvited guests from Nanjing, one possibility that Qu Yutong thought of was that someone wanted to use this method to collect his own secrets. materials, and then drove himself out of the position of Ningbo magistrate.
Qu Yutong trusted He Xiao very much, so he handed over many properties to his two brothers to take care of it. He Xiao seemed to have a fierce attitude towards this Jinyiwei officer. Qu Yutong believed that there must be some reason for this. He I want to hear what He Xiao thinks about this matter. "Sir, if Jinyiwei just wants to find out the purpose of the Haihan people's purchase of military rations, there is no need to openly come to me. If you go to Zhoushan to hide your identity, you will definitely get much more information than what you can get from me. So I think this His actions were intended to shake the mountain and shake the tiger, and find excuses from me. I was ready to deal with him for a while, but after he mentioned your Majesty, I realized that something was wrong, so I sent him away. "He. Xiao took his time and put forward his opinion.
"Mr. He's words make sense." Qu Yutong slowly nodded in agreement: "Since this hundred households know clearly that Mr. He is working for me, and they deliberately come to knock on the door, I think he really has no good intentions... By the way, you have to be careful of the Jin Yiwei’s mischief and blocking the food convoy!”
He Xiao responded: "Don't worry, sir. Arrangements have been made for this matter. I asked He Li to contact the Golden Shield Convoy, and someone will be sent from there to pick up the grain transport team from other places. In addition, the Haihan people have also sent someone to say hello, so as not to If something happens that delays the transportation of grain and fodder, let them blame us.”
Qu Yutong said: "Sir, it is prudent to do things...but those hundred households have to be watched. Since they dare to come forward to make trouble, An Xin will be a stumbling block. If he has any misbehavior, try to restrict him first." Take action and don’t let him cause trouble. If necessary... you can make your own decision without asking for instructions from me!”
What does Qu Yutong mean by "making his own decisions"? He Xiao naturally understands that the boss he serves is not as easy to talk to as he seems, especially when someone threatens his personal interests, Qu Yutong's response is even It can be described as "killing decisively". Before this, no one had tried to take advantage of Master Tai Sui, but they either left Ningbo sadly or disappeared. No one has ever taken advantage of the prefect. He Xiao's obtaining this authorization means that from now on, he can use all necessary means against those who threaten Qu Yutong's interests, even if the other party has the identity of Jin Yiwei.
As the saying goes, money can make ghosts grind mills. If one were to measure Qu Yutong's current wealth, then the ghosts grinding mills for him would probably line up from Ningbo City to the seaside. There are thousands of people working for him directly and indirectly inside and outside Ningbo, and among them there are some experts who specialize in dirty work.
However, these people are not heroes, and Qu Yutong does not look down on those so-called folk masters who are unruly. First, these people are used to being lax and have complicated social relationships. It is impossible to expect them to completely obey the instructions and serve for their boss. Keep secrets; secondly, the greatest skill of these people is to flatter each other, and the truly skilled and reliable people are almost all in the yamen or the army. Selling one's skills to the emperor's family is the right way.
It was He Xiao who organized and managed these people for Qu Yutong. Although he did not need to do the dirty work himself, he was basically responsible for formulating and directing all action plans, and he always handled them neatly. There was no need to leave any future troubles, so Qu Yutong did not hesitate to instruct He Xiao to deal with the ignorant Jinyiwei Baihu this time.
After leaving Qu Yutong's study, He Xiao walked around the magistrate's office, then left with a few people, and then went to the military camp in the north of the city. When he left, there were a few more people. The people he was looking for were either experienced head catchers or good soldiers in the military, and one of the biggest things they had in common was that they had all received many benefits from Qu Yutong. To put it bluntly, these people were Qu Yutong's A bunch of eagle dogs raised secretly.
He Xiao brought the group of people to a house in the city and gave them a general explanation of the situation: "Someone came to my house today with the intention of doing harm to me. Next, I need you to keep an eye on this person. If he continues to look for Trouble, get rid of him as soon as possible!”
Someone asked: "Is this person acting alone or with an accomplice?"
He Xiao responded: "It's not clear yet. We have sent people to inquire about it. We will know later. Before this matter is over, please don't go home to avoid leaking the news. After the matter is completed, everyone involved in the operation will be able to get Reward of five hundred taels of silver.”
He Xiao is never stingy in this kind of thing. As long as he can achieve his goal, he won't mind giving more money to reward the people who do the work. On this point, he and his boss Qu Yutong had the same approach. Qu Yutong didn't even mention the cost at all. As long as He Xiao gets the job done, the cost is not a problem at all. If this stumbling block is not dealt with in time, the losses caused in the future may be more than hundreds or thousands of taels of silver.
But for these workers, five hundred taels of silver is already a lot of money. If they can get five hundred taels of silver by handling an unknown person for Master He, then they probably won't mind receiving it every day. Such a task.
However, there were still more cautious people who noticed the large number of people He Xiao had summoned, and immediately asked: "Master He, it must be very difficult to need so many brothers to act together?"
He Xiao said: "I don't know whether it pricks my hand or not, and I don't care. If he has thorns on his body, then you can just pluck off his thorns one by one!"
(End of chapter)