Chapter 2543
Ha Jianyi had just arrived in Hangzhou for two days and did not know much about the local situation. Almost all the information he had came from written materials. There seemed to be no way to verify the identity and background of these former Ming officers. But he still felt that Dai Chengrong's explanation was a bit secretive. If there was no selfishness involved, Ha Jianyi didn't believe it.
"Captain Dai, does Mr. Shi know about these former Ming officers who were retained?" Ha Jianyi knew that his identity would probably be difficult to deter Dai Chengrong, so he simply took Shi Diwen out. .
Dai Chengrong's expression remained unchanged, he nodded and replied: "Of course the relevant list has been approved by Lord Shi."
Dai Chengrong's answer was a bit vague. He only said that the list had been approved by Shi Diwen, but it did not explain the issue that Ha Jianyi was most concerned about - the background and review process of these former Ming officers, and whether Dai Chengrong also reported to Shi Diwen. Did you submit a detailed report?
However, Ha Jianyi would not be fooled so easily, and immediately continued: "Brother An Guo and I are going to be guests at Master Shi's house in the evening, so we can ask him in person about the retained personnel. ”
At this time, Dai Chengrong couldn't stand it any longer, and responded quickly: "It's a trivial matter, so why bother Mr. Shi! If Mr. Ha has any questions, just ask him directly, and I will try my best to answer them."
Ha Jianyi said in a deep voice: "I just want to know the truth."
Dai Chengrong said: "How can you judge that what I just said is not the truth?"
Ha Jianyi said: "To be honest, I have no evidence, so I want to go to Mr. Shi to confirm it."
Dai Chengrong did not respond, and the room fell into a brief silence. Wang Anguo probably didn't expect that the two of them started to get angry while talking, and for a while he didn't know how to persuade them.
After a while, Dai Chengrong said: "What you are suspicious of is whether these Yangzhou soldiers are reliable. This is actually not difficult to test. Because these people are basically the same as me. They come from the seven major surnames in Yangzhou, which are the first to join Haihan. The future of our seven Anhui salt merchants has long been tied to Haihan. The higher our status in the military, the safer our families will be. The executive committee is the basis for our promotion! If we were just for profit, we could run the family business and there would be no need to join the army!”
Dai Chengrong's words really surprised both Ha Jianyi and Wang Anguo.
Over the years, more than half of the people who have gone to Sanya from Daming to study abroad are from relatively good family backgrounds, many of whom are children of powerful families. Otherwise, it would be difficult to afford the relevant expenses. Of course, after these personnel receive orthodox Haihan-style education and training, it will be easier for them to get a job in Haihan's official organization.
The purpose of these powerful families is to be optimistic about Haihan's development prospects and hope to maintain common interests with Haihan. The second is that after these children enter the Haihan officialdom and the army and gain certain power, they can in turn consolidate their family's local influence.
Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou began to cooperate with Haihan more than ten years ago, and then Dai Chengrong became a successful template. Other salt merchant families wanted to imitate the Dai family and tried to send their children into the Haihan army. It’s not difficult to understand, and most of the time this kind of operation has been done before. However, the people Ha Jianyi discovered today were originally officers of the Ming army. Now that the Ming Dynasty is gone, they have to switch to the Haihan sect. This shows that these families have always been hedging their bets and acting as facilitators. Rather than "loyal to Haihan" as Dai Chengrong said.
Ha Jianyi said with a straight face: "If their families want to be loyal to my Haihan army, they should let them join our Haihan army from the beginning, instead of joining the Ming army first and then changing camps when the situation is not good! Dai Chengrong smiled bitterly and said: "Our Haihan Kingdom only captured Yangzhou last year. Who dared to make a clear position easily before that? It has been a common practice for many years to let the children of the clan join the army to ensure that the family's salt business can continue. To continue working safely is not to serve the Ming Dynasty. None of the salt merchants in the army have ever opposed the Haihan Army."
What Dai Chengrong said is indeed true. Although Haihan's influence is great, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were still ruled by the Ming Dynasty before last year. How could these salt merchant families dare to openly oppose the imperial court? Disciples like Dai Chengrong who defected to Haihan deliberately chose not to serve near their hometown in the army, so as not to be used by local officials to rectify the family.
It's just that Ha Jianyi's background is very different from him, and his perspective on the problem is naturally different. Ha Jianyi can understand the concerns of these salt merchant families, but it does not mean that he can turn a blind eye to such practices.
Ha Jianyi actually didn't have much basis to doubt whether the sons of these salt merchants in the army were trustworthy. After all, recruiting surrendered soldiers and generals had been a tradition of the Haihan Army for many years. Although Dai Chengrong's approach was suspected of caring for acquaintances and forming cliques for personal gain, But as long as those people meet the conditions, it doesn't count as a violation. There are too many situations like this in the military. What Ha Jianyi really cares about is whether Dai Chengrong's behavior is not reporting information and concealing information from his superiors. This is a real taboo in the military.
Ha Jianyi said: "I can't control what the salt merchant families in Yangzhou think and do, but I have the responsibility to understand the situation in the army. Commander Dai, let me ask you again, the personal situation of these people and the Is Mr. Shi aware of the review process? ”
Dai Chengrong sighed and said: "Do you really think there is anything in the East China Sea Region that you can hide from Master Shi? How could Master Shi not know about the recruitment of former Ming officers?"
"In this case, why did Captain Dai hesitate before and refused to tell the truth?" Ha Jianyi asked.
Dai Chengrong said: "How can we leak the arrangements in the military at will? If you were not a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense with the responsibility of inspecting the local garrison, Dai would not inform you of these inside information!"
Before Ha Jianyi could continue to ask, Dai Chengrong added: "If you still don't believe it, just ask Master Shi yourself tonight. In the meantime, let Master Shi tell you the reason!"
When Ha Jianyi heard what he said, it seemed that the reason for recruiting these people was not him, but Shi Diwen. I didn’t ask any more questions at that moment, I just asked the rightful owner directly in the evening. If what Dai Chengrong said is untrue, he might as well read a copy to Shi Diwen when the time comes.
Seeing that the matter was finally discussed, Wang Anguo quickly smoothed things over and changed the subject, asking Dai Chengrong to take them to see the equipment of the local garrison.
(End of chapter)