Chapter 3156
Regarding the matter of moving the capital to Hangzhou, although the Executive Committee has not yet announced formal plans to the public, the matter is actually a certainty. Many preliminary preparations, especially the large number of infrastructure projects surrounding Hangzhou related to the relocation of the capital, have already been implemented.
Most of the old dock roads and other infrastructure in the east and south of Hangzhou will be repaired and expanded during this period to meet the local transportation needs that will inevitably increase significantly in the future.
Even the city gates entering and exiting the city of Hangzhou need to be drastically renovated and the original roads in and out of the city widened to prevent these gates from becoming traffic bottlenecks.
About 60% of the road hardening construction on the north-south and east-west central axis roads that pass through the city has been completed. Although there will be some congestion on the road during the construction period, once the project is completed, the traffic situation in the city will be greatly improved.
Gong Shiqi looked at the busy construction scene along the way and couldn't help but think that if Haihan hadn't taken over the city, this place wouldn't have changed so much in a hundred years.
After Hangzhou is designated as the capital city, it should soon catch up with Sanya's urban construction level. Commuter trains and river crossing steamships will probably appear here in a few years.
Gong Shiqi's eyes turned back from the car window, looked at Qu Shengfeng and said: "Please tell me more about the case reported in Hangzhou before that no one was arrested."
Qu Shengfeng quickly agreed. The case was reported to the Security Department headquarters in Sanya through him, and he knew the details clearly.
A businessman surnamed Zhu from out of town used abnormal means to contact the officers of the Hangzhou garrison. After the officers noticed something was wrong and reported the matter, the Ministry of Security intervened to investigate. Although the businessman surnamed Zhu was not caught, several secret letters with suspicious contents were found from his residence - the same letters that Gong Shiqi had seen when he went to see He Xi earlier.
After the content of the letter was decrypted, it showed that someone intended to carry out an assassination operation during the Executive Committee's tour of Hangzhou. However, the subsequent investigation did not go smoothly. Although the Ministry of Security used various means and even invited the Military Intelligence Bureau to participate in the investigation, it was still unable to find out the true identity and whereabouts of the suspect.
During his stay in Zhoushan, Gong Shiqi communicated with Ji Yuanqing from the Military Intelligence Bureau, but the other party seemed to have no more information than him, so he hurried to Hangzhou to try to personally investigate the clues left behind in the case.
The case story told by Qu Shengfeng had more details than what Gong Qiqi had previously learned.
For example, the place where the businessman surnamed Zhu established a relationship with the officer who reported the matter was an underground casino in Hangzhou City. This officer was not the only one the businessman surnamed Zhu had contact with before he was exposed, but they were all in that casino.
"The method he uses is actually very simple. He waits for an opportunity in the casino and talks to these officials who are gambling. Seeing how much you lose, he will even offer to lend you money. As long as you hold the IOU, it is equivalent to Got the handle on the person involved! ”
Hearing this, Gong Shiqi interjected: "The officials here in Hangzhou are very brave. They actually dare to enter and leave the casino in public, and even borrow money from strangers by issuing IOUs."
Qu Shengfeng smiled bitterly and said: "The Donghai Region took over the Ming Dynasty's territory in Jiangsu and Zhejiang too quickly. We don't have that many manpower to take over the governance of these areas, so many officials who were originally affiliated with the Ming Dynasty were temporarily retained in their original posts. Ensure the normal operation of government offices.”
"The quality of these officials who have changed their offices is uneven, so this situation will inevitably occur. After the incident, all relevant personnel involved have been suspended for investigation, but we took this opportunity to rectify the official atmosphere."
Gong Shiqi said: "That casino should have been investigated, right? What is the conclusion of the investigation?"
Qu Shengfeng nodded and said: "Of course I have checked. That underground casino has been around for some years. There are several bosses behind the scenes. In the past, the commanders of the Zhejiang Dusi Department, the counselors of the Chief Envoy Department, and the deputy chief prosecutors of the Prosecution Department "These people have great influence in the local area, and the casino involves too many interests, so it can still survive after our country takes over the Hangzhou Prefecture, and the management committee has always turned a blind eye. I closed my eyes and ignored this gray area. However, after this incident, the management committee closed down the casino for safety reasons.”
"But according to the results of our investigation, we have found no evidence of collusion with the businessman surnamed Zhu. It is very likely that that person just used the special environment of the casino to implement his plan."
Gong Shiqi said: "Good guy, the three departments and one government are all here. The background of this casino is really tough, so it's no wonder they dare to let officials in to gamble!"
Gong Shiqi noticed that no evidence had been found for Qu Shengfeng's statement, which could be understood to mean that the possibility of the casino colluding with the businessman surnamed Zhu was not ruled out.
However, this casino has such a profound background. From the day it was opened, it has had an inseparable relationship with the Ming Dynasty officialdom. Now it is probably not easy to thoroughly investigate whether it is still connected with the Ming Dynasty and whether it is involved in the assassination plan. thing.
However, there happens to be a yamen that is responsible for such matters, and that is the Special Liaison Office that Gong Shiqi wants to visit.
The responsibility of this organization is to coordinate affairs between Haihan and Ming Dynasty, as well as handle various transnational disputes and cases. Gong Shiqi believes that clues related to this case may be found there, especially information that the Ministry of Security does not have.
The Special Liaison Office in Xingxianfang in the west of the city is already very different from when it was settled a year ago.
The dilapidated facade at that time has now been renovated. A large open space has been specially opened outside the gate, and a dedicated parking lot for carriages and horses has been set up to facilitate people from all walks of life who come here to do business.
The Yamen, which was originally a crowded place, is now crowded with visitors. Visitors who do not have an appointment may not be able to be received on the same day. Last year, there were only a few people working here in the compound, but now there are dozens of employees.
Gong Shiqi and Qu Shengfeng had special status, so they did not need to make an appointment in advance. After handing their names to the concierge and indicating their intention, the receptionist let them into the reception room in the courtyard and asked them to sit for a while.
Not long after, a young official came and greeted the two of them: "I'm Zhu Zian, thank you for your kindness. You two will be waiting for a long time."
Gong Shiqi responded with a little surprise: "Isn't Master Li here?"
Zhu Zian said: "Mr. Li is going to Lin'an County for work today, and he will probably not come back until evening. I am Mr. Li's deputy. If anything happens to you two, please tell me the same thing."
Gong Shiqi immediately remembered the identity of the young official in front of him. Last year, this person passed the imperial examination and became an official in Hangzhou, which had a great impact. After all, it was Zhu Zian who was the first to do such a rare thing for a member of the Ming Dynasty royal family to come to Haihan to serve as an official.
(End of chapter)