Chapter 2677
Since it is an official visit of a public nature, it is natural that diplomatic red tape is indispensable. After the welcoming ceremony at the port, the delegation took carriages to the city to attend the reception banquet hosted by the local government.
The area where Busan Port is located belongs to the Dongnae Protectorate of Gyeongsang Province. Governor Moon Zhihong, Navy Commander Li Yongfu and other major local civil and military officials were all present at the reception banquet. For them, they had to be careful to receive not only these young officials from the suzerain country, but also General Andoseok, who was inspecting Busan on behalf of the imperial court.
From a certain point of view, serving General An from Seoul is far more important than dealing with the Haihan delegation. After all, the people in the mission were likely to leave after just one round, and it was well known that Andoshi was a close confidant of the king. The report he submitted after returning to Seoul was likely to affect the career of these local officials.
Ando Shi knew the mission's purpose of arranging this stop in Busan. One of his purposes in coming to Busan was to help Haihan solve the problems in Busan. Therefore, he made a clear request to local officials during the meeting. All outstanding public security cases involving Haihan personnel in the region must be resolved as soon as possible, and the local safety of Haihan commercial institutions and personnel must be guaranteed. At the same time, those who specifically target Haihan must be dealt with. We launched a severe crackdown on the crimes committed by Han.
"His Majesty is deeply saddened by the various security cases against Haehan in Busan in recent years. These cases have seriously affected the good relations between our country and Haehan. The local government failed to take precautions against these situations and failed to respond promptly afterwards. Everyone here is responsible for handling it properly and causing today’s situation.”
Andao Shi's tone was very stern, and all the local officials present were trembling with fear and did not dare to speak out in defense.
Seeing that no one spoke up, Andao Shi began to call out names: "Master Wen, you have been in power here for several years. What do you think of the issues I just mentioned?"
Being tapped on the head by Andao Shi, Wen Zhihong had no choice but to bite the bullet and respond: "I am indeed responsible for my oversight, and I will plead guilty to it."
The local public security is not stable, and Wen Zhihong, as the chief official, is naturally responsible. However, he was a disciple of former Prime Minister Kim Sang-heon, and his family was from an influential family in Gyeongsang Province. He also had some connections in the court. Otherwise, how could he have been in charge of the treasure trove of Busan Port for several years in a row.
But does submitting a memorial to plead guilty mean taking corresponding responsibility? Not necessarily. With Wen Zhihong's identity and background, it is not difficult to keep his official position, unless Haihan directly requests the court to replace local officials.
But the relationship between Wen Zhihong and Haihan is not that bad. Haihan has not encountered any obstacles in various trade activities in the Busan area, and the profitable business has not been less profitable, while Wen Zhihong Of course you will benefit from it. If he were to be replaced, maybe some Haihan businessmen would stand up and cry out for him.
Andao Shi may not have understood these situations, but he did not intend to let Wen Zhihong take the blame alone. He turned to Li Yongfu and asked: "Master Li, as the navy commander, you also have the responsibility to protect local peace. Regarding What are your thoughts on the problems in Busan? ”
Although Li Yongfu's official position was the Naval Military Envoy, as the highest-ranking military attaché in Busan, he actually had jurisdiction over all local naval and land garrisons, which can be said to be extremely powerful. Although in principle local security should be handled by the police team under the government yamen, the current security situation in Busan Port has obviously exceeded the control of the police officers. The intervention of the garrison may be needed to calm the situation.
Of course, there is another possibility, that is, the department that is supposed to be responsible for local security is no longer trustworthy, so higher-level forces need to be used to deal with the problems in Busan.
Regardless of whether Li Yongfu had the intention to wade into this muddy water before, now that An Daoshi has pointed him out, he is intentionally asking him to help. Li Yongfu's statement was quite cheerful: "It is the duty of the military to ensure local security. As long as the general gives the order, the general should do his best."
An Daoshi nodded and said: "That's very good. In the next few days, Mr. Wen and Mr. Li will do some results as soon as possible!"
Andorite did not propose specific goals and practices, but simply let them develop on their own. This seems to respect the authority of local officials, but it is also a test for them. If they cannot come up with immediate governance measures to satisfy the Haihan delegation who specially came here to inspect, they may have to take another approach and adopt some unconventional means.
Whether it is the local government or the garrison, there is not much trust in Andoshi. He actually has no personal connections with the local civil and military officials, and the Busan garrison has no affiliation with him. But in the face of the Haihan people, he can only choose to use the power of his own country to solve the problem, lest the Haihan people come up. Just ask for direct intervention.
Now that Andao Shi has taken the initiative to take over the task, although the Haihan Mission intends to settle the score with the derelict local government, it is not easy to break up with them directly this time.
Shi Chengwu said: "Then let's deal with it according to General An's wishes first, how about five days?"
Andao Shi did not bargain and agreed immediately. If a local official cannot produce a satisfactory result after spending five days, then there is no need for him to shield such a mediocre person.
As soon as Andao Shi arrived, he gave tasks to the local officials. The atmosphere of the reception banquet was naturally not much better, and the whole process was a bit boring. The local officials just toasted in a formal manner and took no further action.
Even those officials who have nothing to do with public security have realized that the distinguished guests visiting Busan this time are not coming to Busan to eat, drink and have fun, but to cause trouble. If the response is not done well, then Wen Zhihong and Li Yongfu may not be the only ones who will be unlucky. I am afraid that many people present will be implicated to varying degrees.
Haihan has been operating in Busan Port for many years. Local officials have benefited from it and some have suffered losses. In short, almost no one can completely distance themselves from Haihan. They also knew a little bit about the local security cases against Haihan. Although Haihan merchants had been dissatisfied with the results of the local government's handling before this, who would take those people's complaints seriously? After all, this is not the country of Haihan, so how could everything be done according to the wishes of the Haihan people.
But I didn’t expect that Haihan actually mobilized a large-scale armed fleet to station in Busan Port for this purpose, and also asked senior officials of the court to come forward to put pressure. Although it does not seem to have the intention to use force at the moment, it is obviously to use this to threaten the local government. The government showed its strength and supported the local Haihan people.
(End of chapter)