Chapter 2860
The content of the letter is actually very simple. Lu Ping said in the letter that the cargo owners in Shenyang are in a hurry and hope that the goods can be prepared and delivered as soon as possible in China. However, the entire letter did not mention any specific names, which shows that Lu Ping was also very careful. If the letter was intercepted on the way, it would not become evidence that he or the recipient was in contact with the enemy.
Bai Kesi finished reading it in a few seconds and handed it back to Chen Yixin.
After Chen Yixin saw it, he asked Lu Ping: "Can you add one more thing, if the goods cannot be delivered in time, the other party will find another company to cooperate."
Lu Ping did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly added Chen Yixin's instructions, then sealed the letter in front of them and stamped it with a fire seal, then called his subordinates and ordered him to ride a fast horse to send the letter back to the country immediately.
After coming out of Xianghongji, Bai Kesi asked: "When you said you were looking for another company to cooperate with, were you trying to scare them, or were you really making other preparations?"
Chen Yixin smiled and said: "This is actually not important. What is important is that the other party has no choice. Only I can provide him with the various resources needed to consolidate his position."
Bai Kesi said solemnly: "Even if the other party is willing to cooperate, there are some things that cannot be given away casually."
Chen Yixin understood what he meant, and immediately nodded in response: "Don't worry, I will definitely not give you guns and artillery. My goal is to weaken the Manchu Qing, not to arm them to cause trouble for myself."
Next, Chen Yixin took them to visit several shops run by Manchu merchants. The bosses behind them were all Eight Banner nobles and senior officials of the Qing court.
The goods sold in these shops are all similar, mainly agricultural and animal husbandry products. It can be seen that there are indeed not many good things in the Qing Dynasty. However, the attitude of these shopkeepers was very consistent. Their respect for Chen Yixin was no less than that of the Haihan citizens, and they almost knelt down to kowtow to him.
After having a general understanding of the operating conditions of these shops, it is not difficult for Bai Kesi and others to understand why they are so respectful to Chen Yixin. Today, under the rule of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, thousands of people benefited from the business activities of these shops, and all of these shopkeepers were extremely fat. It is no exaggeration to say that Chen Yixin was the living God of Wealth to them.
Like Xianghongji, most of the goods trafficked by these shops to Shenyang are purchased by Haihan officials, so the shopkeepers hardly have to worry about sales. As long as the quality of the goods meets the standard, Haihan will charge as much as possible, and you can also choose to settle in cash or barter.
As for the Haihan products that sell well in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, naturally only those merchants who have obtained franchise rights can get the goods. This in and out, the profit can be said to be quite generous.
Of course, this approach can be said to be a naked transfer of interests, but the purpose of the Northern Region is not to show weakness, but to create a group of vested interests within the Manchu Qing Dynasty and form a long-term interest bundle with them.
Even though he had already caught up with the Little Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Chen Yixin did not give up his efforts in other directions. Bai Kesi had no doubt that if Shunzhi failed, Chen Yixin would be able to pull out a few more spare tires for the Little Emperor. Apply eye drops.
But if we want to ensure the stability of the northern border, relying on this alone is far from enough. The special power structure formed by the Eight Banners tribes in the Manchu Qing Dynasty made it very difficult to coordinate the interests of all parties, so military affairs were still an indispensable means for Haihan to control the situation.
Just that afternoon, when Chen Yixin was accompanying Bai Kesi and others to visit the Manchu Palace, a subordinate came to report that a small group of Qing troops had attacked the Haihan caravan near Qingyang Fort in the north. Reports from the front stated that there was a fierce battle between the Qing army and the armed escorts of the caravan, and both sides suffered casualties. However, the Qing army finally won the victory by virtue of their superior strength and took away most of the caravan's goods.
"How many people have we lost?" Chen Yixin asked coldly.
The officer who came to report the news replied: "We have more than thirty casualties in total, all of whom were members of the attacked caravan. The other party has retreated to the north of the border. The Qingyang Fort garrison asked for instructions whether to pursue it."
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Chen Yixin took a deep breath, calmed down, and then ordered: "Inform Sun Zhen to hold a meeting at the staff department later. Also, summon officials from the Qing embassy immediately!"
The visit to the palace was interrupted, but the young people did not feel regretful. Instead, they became excited because of this unexpected incident. They traveled all the way north and saw many battlefield relics left by the battle between Haihan and Manchu. Naturally, they were full of imaginations about the battle between the two armies, but they did not expect that this trip would lead to another armed conflict between the two sides. when.
Bai Letong asked: "Since the two countries have signed an armistice agreement and delineated the border line, why do the Qing army dare to do this kind of thing?"
Chen Pingliao next to him answered his question: "Although the armistice agreement has been signed, frictions and conflicts in the border areas will still occur from time to time, and a considerable part of them are trade disputes. However, both sides will control the situation so as not to break up. Shame.”
Bai Letong asked: "Is there any precedent of this kind of robbery of caravans in the past?"
Chen Pingliao said: "In the past two years, trade activities between the two countries have become normal. This kind of thing has indeed never happened."
Ning Zijing said: "I remember I heard you introduce it before. Qingyang Fort is the place where the border market is set up. There should be many caravans from the two countries in the area. The Qing army crossed the border to rob the caravans. Wouldn't this disrupt order and make people Is the border market unable to operate normally? ”
Chen Pingliao said: "The current situation is unclear. It is difficult to judge whether the other party's purpose is to kill people and get goods or has other motives. However, large-scale trade between the two countries is usually negotiated in Shenyang, and the delivery of goods is only completed at Qingyang Fort. That’s all. Even if the local market is suspended, only the scattered transactions of the border residents of the two countries will be directly affected. But if the matter is serious and the entry and exit arrangements of Qingyang Fort are stopped, it may be more troublesome.”
Half an hour later, the Manchu envoys stationed in Shenyang hurried over in carriages. However, Chen Yixin only invited Bai Kesi to attend, and did not allow several young people to participate in the meeting with the Manchu envoys. He asked Chen Pingliao to take them to the staff first, so that they could later observe the military meeting.
When everyone came to the staff headquarters, they saw that Sun Zhen was already directing people to arrange the venue. A large map of Liaodong was also hung on the wall. They quickly found the location of Qingyang Fort on the map.
According to the current temporary border line agreed between Haihan and the Manchu Qing Dynasty, Qingyang Fort is the northern border of Haihan. Judging from the map, the area where Qingyang Fort is located is already a protrusion deep into the Manchu-ruled area. The east and north sides are Manchu territories, and the west side is the territory of the Mongolian tribes. The local area is more than 200 miles away from Shenyang City, and there are two acropolises, Liaohaiwei and Tielingwei, which originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty.
(End of chapter)