Chapter 1923
The guest house in Yinggehai County is built not far from the coastline. You can even hear the sound of waves repeatedly lapping the coast from the room. However, the local terrain of Yinggehai is very flat, and the courtyard of this guesthouse is a bungalow structure. It does not have a good view and unobstructed beauty like the guesthouse built on the hillside in Sanya.
Of course, Li Bo didn't care about this. During his trip to Haihan, he looked at the sea almost every day, and he had long been numb to the sea view. Moreover, he couldn't see any scenery outside at all at night, as long as the indoor living environment was comfortable enough. .
After Li Bo and his party checked in, Gai Liangcai arranged the night guard rotation and then returned to the courtyard where Haihan officials lived to rest. Although the local public security is said to be fairly good, Gai Liangcai does not dare to be careless. If he makes even the slightest mistake in this job, let alone military merit, he may not have the opportunity to be promoted in the future.
The private guards sent by Luo Shengdong were also very dedicated. Two people were left on duty at the front door and the back door. Another four people were stationed in the Korean courtyard. Another group of people would change shifts in the middle of the night. The most common training for this group of people is to protect important people. This mission is undoubtedly what they are best at, and may even be better than the military's security measures.
The local garrison, the accompanying troops, Luo Shengdong's personal guard, and the night patrol personnel of the guest house itself, the number of personnel guarding Li Shu's residence will remain around fifty people throughout the night. If someone who didn't know the inside story saw this situation, they would definitely think that some high-ranking official from Haihan came to Yinggehai quietly.
Naturally, Li Bo also received notification from Haihan to avoid any misunderstanding. Although Li Pu felt that Haihan arranged this level of security to give himself face, he also thought that it was indeed a bit too grand. The two personal guards he brought with him seemed a bit redundant at this time, so Li Pu simply sent them to rest earlier.
"The Haihan people really like to show off!" Li Bo sighed thoughtfully: "Tell me, do the Haihan people feel that the courtesy they received when they came to our country was not enough, so they went out of their way to create such a scene? Give me lessons?”
Li Xi responded: "That shouldn't be the case. The high-ranking Haihan officials that the Crown Prince saw at Fort Victory had much stricter security measures when they traveled than they do now. Moreover, the Haihan people are used to setting various standards on various matters. They are all acting in accordance with standards. I think they may have created such a big battle as a standard operation for receiving foreign dignitaries. The previous visits by dignitaries from Annan and other countries were in a similar situation."
"Is that so?" Li Shu felt relieved after hearing this explanation, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He actually quite enjoyed the feeling of being valued by Haihan, which made him feel that his status as the crown prince of Joseon was fully respected by the other party. But when I thought about it, the situation Li Xi mentioned was actually not bad. At least he treated himself equally, and there was no gap between him and other countries in terms of treatment.
Before coming to Haihan, what Li Bo was most worried about was not whether he could adapt to the living environment of Haihan country, but whether he could get enough respect from Haihan as the heir to the throne of a relatively weak country. But judging from the current treatment, Li Pu felt that his previous worries were a bit overblown. Haihan people arranged everything very carefully, so that he could not find any faults.
Li Pu recalled that from his arrival in Sanya, to the temporary application for inspection, to Haihan's rapid arrangement of the itinerary, during this period, Haihan's various departments operated with such high efficiency that he had never seen it before. He also remembered that Li Xi had told him before that Haihan was very efficient in the preparation stage. Whether it was the Battle of Manila or sending troops to assist North Korea, Haihan's mobilization ability and preparations only took a very short time. Why is Haihan able to do this?
Li Pu asked Li Xi the question he was thinking of, but it covered a wide range, and Li Xi didn't know how to explain it to Li Xi for a while. After thinking about it for a while, Li Xi responded: "Haihan people will prepare plans in advance for various situations. Whether they are preparing for war or receiving foreign dignitaries, they have corresponding plans, and then they will just respond according to the plan when the time comes."
Li Shu said: "It sounds simple for you to say it, but even if there is a plan, if it can be executed so smoothly and all departments can be seamlessly connected, then it is not just that the plan is well done."
"The prince has a clear lesson!" Li Xi agreed with Li Pu's view: "Their various yamen are indeed very efficient in operation, and many officials were recruited and trained by Haihan from the Ming Dynasty and other countries. This can only be said Haihanguo is very capable in the training, selection and appointment of officials, so that the executive committee can give orders and be executed efficiently. ”
Li Pu's heart moved and he continued to ask Li Xi: "Is there any way to learn this method of training, selecting and appointing officials?"
Li Xi shook his head and said: "If the prince is referring to studying abroad, then there is no such major. It must be related to something. It may be training officers for other countries. After these officers return to their home countries, they will be able to use their relevant experience to some extent." Bring back some of it.”
After hearing this, Li Pu was slightly discouraged. Of course, what he wanted to learn was not how to appoint military generals, but how to train officials like Tian Zheng, Hong Jingwen, and Zhang Qianzhi in batches. These capable young officials are The real executor of Haihan Kingdom's efficient operation, but his own country... Li Bo thought about the two representatives of the domestic officialdom. Cui Mingji was already in his early fifties, while Kim Sang-heon was older, already sixty-seven.
He has been in contact with the Haihan people for such a long time, and it seems that he has never seen any elderly officials holding important positions in the Haihan officialdom. If the officialdom of Haihan, which is dominated by young and strong officials, is full of vitality, then the officialdom of North Korea can only be described as sluggish. Li Fu didn't like the factional fighting among the officials in the country. Even though he knew that this was a way for Li Fu, as the ruler, to maintain the balance of power among officials, he still appreciated Haihan's ability to work together to get things done. The atmosphere of every errand.
But imagining the two distinct camps in the country, Li Pu felt that if we relied on the existing selection system, it would be difficult to cultivate talents like Haihan officials. And if we want to change this situation, we probably have to find a way to start from Haihan needs to learn more skills here.
But since he was here to see the operation of the salt farm, Li Bo decided to focus on the business conditions here first. After all, the country was also following Haihan's approach in building large-scale salt farms. It would always be beneficial to pick up some scriptures here and go back.
The night was calm and there was no abnormal situation. Of course, this was within everyone's expectations. After all, the Joseon Crown Prince's trip here will not affect the interests of other countries in the South China Sea, and there is no reason why he would become a target for others.
Luo Shengdong's attitude was very upright. Although he drank the most at last night's banquet, he still rushed to the guesthouse early in the morning. At this time, Li Shu and Li Xi had just arrived. When I woke up, I hadn’t even started to wash up.
Luo Shengdong didn't mind this at all, and waited patiently for them to clean up before having breakfast with them. Although the content of the conversation was just a formal concern about whether Li Bo had a good rest last night, Li Bo could still feel that this Haihan official's emotional intelligence in dealing with people was indeed not bad, and he was very fond of him. Haihan's willingness to use him may partly be due to his ability. After lunch, the accompanying officials who lived in another adjacent yard also came to join us. Then Luo Shengdong gave a brief introduction to the situation of the salt farm and the content of today's visit.
Like other countries, the salt industry in Haihan is also a government-operated industry, so all the salt fields in the Yinggehai area are government property. The local labor force directly engaged in the salt industry currently exceeds 4,000 people. It is the largest in the Haihan Salt Farm in terms of production scale and number of employees.
The county seat located on the west coast of Yinggehai Bay is only the most densely populated area in the local area. In fact, there are four towns along the bay with more than ten villages under its jurisdiction. Most of the residents in these villages work in the salt fields. Although Haihan officials have not established a system such as Zaohu Saltwork, basically this profession will be inherited from generation to generation among the local people.
Yinggehai has only gradually prospered in recent years with the increase in the scale of salt production. The local service industry, transportation industry, financial industry, etc. basically rely on the backbone of the salt industry.
"It is no exaggeration to say that this is a city built in the middle of a salt field. Everything is closely related to salt. Everyone living here cannot escape from salt. For us people here, salt is not It’s just condiments. This is a job that everyone relies on for a living. It is the inheritance of many families and even a part of life!” Perhaps because he has been working in this industry for several years, Luo Shengdong said about Yinggehai’s work! When it comes to the current situation, some personal emotions are unconsciously brought into it, and the listeners can't help but be touched by it.
Of course, not everyone will have a different sentiment towards this salt producing area like Luo Shengdong. For example, Captain Xue and his party, who arrived here just last night, left the city early in the morning to check the terrain. However, they soon discovered that this place The environment lacks recognition, and I am a little overwhelmed by the endless salt field outside the county seat.
"This place is so big, and the salt ponds in the salt field all look the same, so how do you know where North Koreans will visit?"
"This is easy to handle. North Koreans will definitely travel by horse-drawn carriage. As long as we guard the main roads and place people at intervals to monitor, it will not be difficult to keep an eye on the target..."
"No, no, there are only about ten of us in total. If we are dispersed, it will take a lot of time to regroup. We should try to find two horses first. When the time comes, we will follow the convoy to the place, and one of them will rush back to report. Let's take action again..."
"Your idea is really wrong. There are carriages on this road, and there are no light cavalry! Are you riding a horse to keep a lookout, are you afraid that the other party's guards won't notice?"
This group of people had different opinions and it was difficult to convince each other, so they immediately started arguing. Captain Xue became irritated and quickly stopped them: "Stop arguing! Listen to me!"
The origins of this group of people are complicated, and not all of them are his subordinates, so problems of this kind will inevitably arise when operating outside. And now that they are operating in the hinterland of Haihan, if they are not careful, not only will their previous efforts be wasted, but they will also be likely to be killed by the Haihan people, and they will not even have anywhere to run. Therefore, Captain Xue must be very energetic and lead this group of people to carry out a special mission.
"Everyone knows that whether this transaction is successful in the end or not, it is likely to be a near-death situation. If you want to escape unscathed, you need your best cooperation! Your rewards have been obtained before departure, but everyone Be careful, this is life money, don’t end up making money but not spending it!”
Captain Xue lowered his face and reprimanded the group, and then calmed down the situation a little. He immediately issued an order to have people go back to the city to find a horse and carriage dealer to hire two carriages, pretending to be merchants going to the nearby salt fields to haul salt, and then wait for the target to appear on this main road that runs through the salt-producing area.
However, he was actually not too sure whether he could wait until the North Koreans showed up, because although there was news that the prince of North Korea came to Yinggehai to visit the salt field, there was no more precise information about when and where he would visit. This kind of arrangement is generally confidential, and it is basically impossible to find out about it from the market. You can only choose a more reasonable place and wait for it.
Fortunately, the terrain of Yinggehai is relatively simple and clear. As long as the North Koreans leave the guest house to visit the salt field, they must pass through this main road, and they will definitely not go wrong by guarding it.
Not long after, his people brought back two large carriages from the city, and only the carriages did not need drivers to avoid leaking their whereabouts. Captain Xue ordered everyone to get on the car, then drove to a nearby place where the road was slightly wider, and parked the car directly on the side of the road. The two people pretending to be coachmen were left to sit outside the car and watch the wind, while the others hid quietly. in the car.
The group of them left the city quite early. When the arrangements were being made, Luo Shengdong was still having breakfast with the Koreans, so after waiting for a long time, the target did not appear. Everyone was drowsy waiting in the car. Suddenly, they heard the accomplices on lookout outside knocking on the wooden board of the car to give a signal, and they quickly came to their senses and prepared to take action.
Captain Xue, who was in charge of the command, went out through the gap in the car hood that had been prepared long ago and saw a convoy approaching from the south. In front of the convoy were eight riders wearing Haihan military uniforms, leading the way. When he got closer, he could see clearly that there were at least twenty armed guards on both sides of the convoy. He immediately gave up all his thoughts and slowly loosened his grip on the gun at his waist.
(End of chapter)