Chapter 2577
When he returned to his residence that day, Ning Zijing saw that both of them were in low spirits, so he asked them about their visit to Shi Diwen during the day. The two of them didn't make any secrets and told everything.
Ning Zijing said: "I think Brother Bai's worries are reasonable. You think that if Uncle Shi wants to promote someone, he doesn't need to do it through such complicated means as manipulating the provincial examination, but have you ever thought about it? That's just our habitual thinking. Participate in Do students who take the provincial examination and ordinary people have such thoughts? They only think that obtaining official status through the imperial examination is the right way to enter the officialdom. Especially for those with family background, they can legitimately enter the officialdom through the imperial examination. , correct procedures may be more important to them.”
Bai Letong frowned and said: "You mean that for some candidates with prominent backgrounds, the symbolic meaning of obtaining fame may be more important than the purpose of obtaining the opportunity to become an official?"
Tao Hongfang said: "But I really can't think of any kind of person who would value the symbolic meaning of this so much, and even ask Uncle Shi to cooperate and arrange for the rural trial office to cooperate."
Ning Zijing said: "I am just raising a conjecture, which may not be the truth. Since Uncle Shi has said that he will investigate the matter after the provincial examination, I think you should not worry about this matter anymore. So should the examination questions be changed? It shouldn’t affect the overall situation, so Brother Bai shouldn’t be too obsessed with it.”
Bai Letong said: "Can we find out more about Brother Tao's relationship?"
Tao Hong shook his head in embarrassment and said: "The people I used are not from the government. If we continue to conduct in-depth investigations, we will inevitably alert the enemy, which may affect the holding of this year's provincial examination."
Bai Letong was already helpless about the current situation. Even if he thought there was something wrong with it, he had no choice but to accept Ning Zijing's suggestion first.
Ning Zijing also knew that continuing the discussion would only make the two of them depressed, so he immediately changed the subject and said: "Today shopkeeper Li sent someone to send a message, saying that the Yangzhou salt merchant will be arriving tomorrow and invites us to meet. What do you think?”
Tao Hongfang had already agreed on this matter when he met Li Fa that day, and naturally he would not refuse. I just happened to pull Bai Letong along, and I thought it was a good way to relax, lest he keep thinking about the provincial trial, and something would happen sooner or later if he continued to worry about it.
Ning Zijin saw that Bai Letong was still hesitant, so he also advised: "Brother Bai, the purpose of our coming to Hangzhou this time is not only to complete the tasks assigned above, but also to increase our knowledge and expand our contacts. Based on our recent experience, From what we have seen, we know that Yangzhou salt merchants have a great influence in the Donghai region, so it would not hurt to get acquainted with them.”
Bai Letong couldn't stand the two of them taking turns lobbying. He thought it would be nice to be out of sight and out of mind for a while, so he agreed.
Whether it is Li Fa or the salt merchant from Yangzhou, both can be regarded as the top rich people in this era. Li Fa had gone to Yangzhou before and should have established a relatively good relationship with the other party. The meeting place was set in Hangzhou, so Li Fa played the role of a landlord and planned to entertain the distinguished guests.
There were quite a few guests who came to Li Fa's house that day. In addition to the heads of Qiong Lianfa's various branches in Hangzhou, many local wealthy businessmen and celebrities were also invited, and there were even some officials.
After Tao Hongfang got off the bus at the entrance of Li Mansion, he immediately saw an acquaintance, Wan Yan, the head of the Hangzhou Office of the Ministry of Commerce. Wan Yan also noticed Tao Hongfang's appearance immediately and hurried over to greet him.
After Tao Hongfang exchanged a few words with Wan Yan, he learned that the salt merchant who came from Yangzhou this time was an old acquaintance of him, so Li Fa set up a reception banquet and specially sent him an invitation to attend today's meeting. Activity.
Tao Hongfang asked curiously: "Shopkeeper Li has created such a huge formation to catch the wind. Isn't the person coming here a top figure among Yangzhou salt merchants?"
Wan Yan responded: "So you don't know who the distinguished guest is today? The most powerful among the Yangzhou salt merchants are the Huizhou salt merchants, and the one who comes to Hangzhou this time is Dai Yingda, the leader of the Huizhou salt merchants. Stationed in Hangzhou Dai Chengrong, the commander of the Second Regiment of the Seventh Lu Division in the city, is his youngest son.”
Speaking of the name Dai Yingda, Tao Hongfang didn't have much specific impression, but he heard Ha Jianyi mention Dai Chengrong a few days ago. At that time, Ha Jianyi came back from an inspection tour of the Second Regiment's station and believed that the regiment leader Dai Chengrong was suspected of nepotism and had given special care to those who were born in Yangzhou in the process of retaining former Ming officers. This was also the first time that several of them realized the huge influence of Yangzhou salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang after arriving in Hangzhou.
Of course, as an outsider, Ha Jianyi has no right to dictate the affairs of the local garrison. Even though he was a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense to inspect military affairs in Zhejiang, this status had very limited influence on the direct troops under Shi Diwen. Therefore, although Ha Jianyi had doubts about Dai Chengrong's approach, he still had no way to deal with the other party. He even failed to win Shi Diwen's support, and in the end he had no choice but to give up.
When the group arrived at the door, a special person greeted them and led them to the banquet hall of the mansion to sit down. After Tao Hongfang and others entered, they found another acquaintance - Shi Diwen's eldest son Shi Chengwu.
Perhaps to keep a low profile, Shi Chengwu did not attend in military uniform today, but with his status, he did not need to rely on uniforms to support the scene. At this time, there were at least a dozen people surrounding him, huddled together to say hello and attentively, all trying to seize this rare opportunity to leave a good impression on Master Shi.
Shi Chengwu was obviously very familiar with such scenes, and did not react much to the enthusiasm of the people around him. He only nodded slightly occasionally to indicate that he had noticed their presence.
At this time, Shi Chengwu also saw Tao Hongfang and others entering the banquet hall, so he stood up and invited them to sit at his table. It seems that their status is equivalent, so it is appropriate for them to sit together on such an occasion.
After Tao Hongfang and others took their seats, they exchanged a few words with Shi Chengwu and found out that he was attending today's banquet on behalf of Shi Diwen. It can be seen that when Yangzhou salt merchant Dai Yingda came to Hangzhou, his influence was not just at the civil level. Even Shi Diwen paid enough attention to it. Although he did not come in person, he sent his eldest son to attend the event. This pair of It’s already a huge honor for the organizers.
After the guests had almost arrived, the host Li Fa appeared in the banquet hall, and he was accompanied by an energetic old man in black. It was obvious that this person should be Dai Yingda, today's distinguished guest.
(End of chapter)