Chapter 2396
Different from the strategy adopted in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty, Haihan's attitude towards the development of civilian armed forces in the northern region was more cautious. On the one hand, this is because Haihan’s stronghold in the north is closer to the power center of the Ming Dynasty. If these small actions to challenge official authority are carried out under his nose, it may irritate the other party; on the other hand, the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty has been experiencing constant wars in recent years. The situation is very complicated. If Haihan sells standard weapons in bulk to northern civilians, these equipment are likely to flow into the hands of the rebellious peasant army through various channels. This is not a situation Haihan wants to see.
Therefore, although Haihan has established a stronghold in Shandong for several years, he has always been relatively restrained in supporting local powerful people to establish civilian armed organizations. Especially when it comes to arms sales, Haihan's attitude can even be described as cautious. So far, only the militia formed by the Ma family has received weapons, equipment and military training provided by Haihan. Although some powerful locals in other areas of Shandong have taken the initiative to contact Haihan in this regard, they have not been able to achieve substantial results. progress.
As for whether these powerful and wealthy Shandong businessmen who joined the Chamber of Commerce will receive different treatment this time, Chen Yixin has nothing to say about it. He has to report the situation here to the executive committee first, and Sanya will decide whether to let go. Open the ban.
Of course, for Chen Yixin personally, he is very happy to promote Haihan to expand military influence among the people of the Ming Dynasty. This not only helps Haihan establish his prestige, but also the troops deployed by Haihan in the north of the Ming Dynasty are very limited and can be used when necessary. Pro-Haihan civilian armed organizations were used to complete some light military tasks, such as armed escort, guarding prisoners of war, maintaining public order, etc., thereby saving the valuable strength of the Haihan Army.
For example, during the Shandong chaos, the Majia militia was organized to share part of the tasks for the Haihan Army, and judging from the current execution results, it was pretty good. The Haihan Army does not need to let these people set foot on the battlefield to fight, as long as they can prepare themselves well, so the requirements for their training and equipment do not need to be too high. They can be qualified if they can stand reliably and obey orders.
The current situation in Shandong has made everyone in power feel in danger, and they all thought of forming private armed forces to protect their own safety. This is indeed a golden opportunity for Haihan. Governments across Shandong are currently in chaos and have lost their due functions, and it is not difficult to judge that this chaotic state will continue for a long time after the war ends. After all, the government does not have enough manpower, material and financial resources to restore local control. If local powerful people organize private armed forces, the government will most likely turn a blind eye and acquiesce to their temporary control over local order.
Whether it is providing weapons and equipment or training measures, Haihan is familiar with the process, and there is no difficulty in implementing it. It just requires the nod and approval of the executive committee. The real problem that needs to be solved is how to tightly tie the interests of these people to Haihan to ensure that the military support provided to them will not be used by people with ulterior motives and become a tool to disrupt the situation in Ming Dynasty. If they can't produce a certificate of sufficient weight, even if they are willing to pay money in exchange, Haihan still won't agree.
The main purpose of the current meeting is to let everyone understand the functions and role of Shanhaihui, a commercial organization. As for military cooperation, Chen Yixin should not speak too clearly in public to avoid giving others clues. But as long as a smart person is interested in this, he can naturally glean some flavor from his words.
The business resources that Shanhaihui can bring to these partners are definitely beyond their imagination before. If their trade scope was only concentrated in one state and one county in the past, then after joining the Shanhaihui, this scope was almost equivalent to Haihan's trade territory. From the Liaodong Peninsula in the north to the Strait of Malacca in the south, there will be countless business opportunities waiting for them to explore and seize.
"Although this war has caused great losses to all walks of life in Shandong, it is a blessing that depends on disaster, and a blessing depends on disaster. The war also made you come to Fushan County by chance and become a trading partner with our country. Waiting for this After the turmoil subsides, everyone should be able to quickly realize the benefits of this trip." After Chen Yixin said this, he ordered someone to bring the Shanhai Society's membership contract and ask everyone present to sign it.
The content of this contract is actually very normal. The main idea is to join the Shanhaihui voluntarily, share resources in the form of mutual assistance, ensure business integrity, etc. There is no special mention of Haihan in it. It seems to be the same as the rules of ordinary chambers of commerce.
"For everyone's convenience in the future, the contract we have prepared does not contain any illegal clauses. You can sign it with confidence." Chen Yixin explained to everyone in a hurry: "This contract only proves that you are members of the Shanhai Club. As a member of the Chamber of Commerce, you can enjoy all the benefits provided by the Chamber of Commerce. It will not cause any trouble to you, and there is no content related to our country.”
Chen Yixin knew that some people were worried that Haihan would have trouble signing a written document such as a contract, so he took the initiative to explain the situation of the contract so that these people could rest assured.
Someone asked: "How can we ensure that all the transaction conditions agreed with your country can be realized?"
Chen Yixin said: "We can sign a separate contract for each transaction. If it is too troublesome to sign each time, you can also sign a long-term cooperation contract with us. The content will be more detailed than the one you see. There is room for discussion on the conditions. If you are interested, you can communicate in private.”
When it comes to the flexible use of contracts, Haihan, who is proficient in trade, is naturally far beyond those present. On the one hand, he trapped them with a simple and harmless contract, and on the other hand, he offered better conditions to lure them to privately find Haihan to sign a separate cooperation agreement. Of course, the content of such a separate agreement is definitely not that simple, and these partners will inevitably be required to make certain special commitments as binding conditions.
People with smart minds will immediately understand Chen Yixin's intentions, and will naturally wonder whether they should have a more in-depth cooperation with Haihan. And those who could not understand his voice would not continue to ask about the details at this time. Anyway, there is nothing special about the contract in front of me, so I will sign it first and reserve a position as a member of Shanhaihui for myself.
After the contract ceremony was over, Chen Yixin hosted a banquet for everyone to celebrate. The delicacies of the mountains and seas, chickens, ducks, fish, and fine wines that could only be enjoyed in big cities during the peacetime were not bad at all. There was even a band playing nearby to add to the fun. Compared with the peaceful singing and dancing here in the refugee camps a few miles away, it was simply... Two worlds. Everyone was confused as to whether the war in Shandong was real or their own illusion.
Chen Yixin deliberately created such an atmosphere to let these people feel what kind of shelter Haihan can provide them in troubled times. This is also a special way to show strength. Although this seems a bit extravagant, people are accustomed to worshiping the strong. The more Haihan behaves like this, the more they respect Haihan and the more they trust Haihan's ability to fulfill all the promises he has made.
The banquet ended and everyone left one after another. As soon as Chen Yixin sat down and took a few sips of tea, his subordinates came to report that Zhen Lang had returned and wanted to see him.
"Smart man!" Chen Yixin praised and asked his men to invite him in.
Chen Yixin could roughly guess why Zhen Lang turned back, so he praised him as "smart man". Of course, this person did not drop something and come back here to find it, but wanted to find an opportunity to meet Chen Yixin alone as soon as possible. He wanted to strike while the iron was hot and avoid attracting other people's attention, so he played a trick of leaving first and then coming back. trick.
"Boss Zhen, I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon." Chen Yixin said teasingly when he saw Zhen Lang coming in. Zhen Lang bowed and said, "General Chen, I'm sorry to bother you, Zhen! But if I don't ask about some things clearly, I may not be able to sleep well tonight."
"Since you can't wait even one night, it must be a very important question, so just ask it!" Chen Yixin said with a smile: "As long as it doesn't involve confidentiality, I will try my best to answer it."
Zhen Lang thanked Chen Yixin and then asked: "General Chen has said before that specific cooperation matters and conditions can be discussed separately. Then I would like to boldly ask if you would like to ask your country to train the militia on your behalf. What areas can we cooperate with? ”
Chen Yixin nodded and said: "Of course. Our country has many military partners in the south, including not only civilians but also government officials. However, our country has an extremely strict review system for selecting partners in the military field. It is not any People can be whatever they want to be.”
Zhen Lang then asked: "Excuse me, General, what are the conditions required to be qualified for cooperation?"
Chen Yixin was silent for a moment before responding: "Leave aside economic strength and local influence, at least we must first gain the trust of our country."
Zhen Lang said: "Then how can I gain the trust of your country? Should I use money to buy this cooperation qualification, or should I do what the Ma family does? I speak frankly, and please don't blame me, General Chen."
Of course, the Ma family's approach was more thorough than providing money. They directly made Chen Yixin their son-in-law, thus gaining Haihan's trust. Of course, there is nothing to say about this. Zhen Lang took the Ma family as an example, not to ridicule anyone, but because he really planned to imitate this approach. If Chen Yixin was willing to use marriage as a condition for cooperation, then the Zhen family would not be without beautiful girls aged fifteen or sixteen.
Chen Yixin shook his head and said: "It's not as extreme as Boss Zhen thought. The main thing is to gradually deepen mutual understanding through close cooperation, so as to help establish a true relationship of mutual trust. The situation of the Ma family is just a special case, Boss Zhen Don’t take this as a shortcut.”
Zhen Lang said: "To be honest, my Zhen family has quite a lot of property in Qingzhou Prefecture, but now the local area has lost order. If there is no guardianship, it will be difficult to make a comeback after returning. So I plan to follow the example of the Ma family and set up a militia group. , I hope the general can take care of the personnel training and necessary equipment. As for what conditions are needed, I hope the general can provide a clear path.”
Zhen Lang's situation is representative to a certain extent. Although he is a wealthy landowner, he cannot protect his property and family in troubled times because he does not possess the force, so he can only flee to another place to seek asylum. He was unwilling to accept the status quo, so he naturally wanted to find a solution, and the militia that Haihan helped the Ma family form was obviously an excellent solution.
In Zhen Lang's view, although the Majia Militia is only a local regiment, it is equipped with standard muskets and practices frequently. It also has the Haihan Army as military advisers. Its combat power is probably a little stronger than the ordinary guard army. . If you can also train a private army in Qingzhou in a similar name, and spend some money to donate a regiment to train generals and other official positions, you can build your own village into a fortress in the future, and have private soldiers stationed to defend it, and you don't have to worry anymore. .
Of course, this plan must first obtain the support of Haihan before it can be implemented. Since Zhen Lang knew that Chen Yixin was the senior general who commanded the Haihan army in Shandong and Liaodong, he decisively chose to skip the intermediate link and communicate directly with Chen Yixin this matter. If Chen Yixin wanted money, then Zhen Lang wouldn't mind gritting his teeth and shelling out a large sum to win his support.
Zhen Lang didn't know that it took time to build trust, but he heard that the Qing army had withdrawn from Jinan Mansion, so he should be able to return soon. If you can't form a team after you go back, your own safety still cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, although Chen Yixin pointed out that finding shortcuts is not advisable, Zhen Lang still hopes to get military assistance from Haihan in the fastest way, so that the Zhen family can live a stable life after returning home.
Chen Yixin said: "Since Boss Zhen is so eager, okay, then I can do something special. But the question is if we want to train the militia, does Boss Zhen have enough manpower available at the moment?"
Chen Yixin knew that there were only about a hundred people from the Zhen family who came to Fushan County to seek refuge. Excluding the old, weak, women and children among them, less than half of them were actually suitable for military training.
Zhen Lang had already figured out the key and immediately responded: "General, if you are willing to help, I have a few followers who are from the military. Can you let them learn and practice with Haihan Army first? In the future, I will return to Qingzhou and recruit more people to teach you the skills I learned in Fushan County.”
Chen Yixin looked at Zhen Lang with a half-smile but said: "Boss Zhen has figured it out very clearly, but if our Haihan Army trains the personnel, then the procurement of weapons from our country in the future can only be calculated based on the quota of directly trained personnel. Quantity available for purchase ”
Zhen Lang said in shock: "Why is this?"
Chen Yixin said: "During the training of our army, we will observe the temperament of the trainees. Those who are not suitable for this profession and are not trustworthy will be eliminated as soon as possible. Only those who have passed the training can be qualified to use weapons produced in our country. I Can Boss Zhen understand this? ”
(End of chapter)