Most of the migrant workers participating in the construction of the Jiande Hydropower Station, and even officials like Zhang He, would not understand why Haihan mobilized troops and invested a lot of resources to build such a dam on the bank of Qiandao Lake. Block the flow of water from Qiandao Lake into the Xin'an River.
But regardless of the purpose, this is obviously no ordinary infrastructure project, because from the beginning of the construction, two companies of the Haihan Army were stationed to protect the safety of the construction site.
These armed men patrolled the perimeter of the construction site every day, so much so that there were rumors that what was being built here was not actually a dam, but an imperial tomb prepared for big shots. Of course, as the project was gradually implemented and the dam gradually took shape, such rumors became self-evident.
With the arrival of various advanced construction equipment, the builders here have become the first local people to be exposed to industrial civilization. While the people of Hangzhou were still amazed by the Haihan battleship on the Qiantang River, the people of Jiande County were already accustomed to the steamships transporting various building materials back and forth on the Xin'an River.
The Jiande Hydropower Station is only the first step in the planning of the entire industrial zone. Next, around this hydropower station, a number of production units closely related to power supply will be built nearby, and then parts of the Tiandu and Changhua industrial zones will be gradually The factory was relocated.
"The scene here makes me feel like I'm back thirty years ago."
Qiao Zhiya said with emotion: "Thirty years ago, in Sanya, we built an industrial zone from scratch in the valley. Thirty years later, we will repeat the same process here again." .”
Huang Zhichang responded: "Sir, we now have enough labor force to drive. This time it will be much faster than thirty years ago! In one or two years, the factory here will be gradually put into production. By then, many high-end equipment will be here It can be produced and we no longer have to rely entirely on supply from the south.”
Qiao Zhiya personally participated in the construction process of Tiandu and Changhua industrial zones. Now that he sees the construction sites here, he can't help but feel emotional. And Huang Zhichang, who is in his prime next to him, is not just like himself back then, full of energy and ambition.
Look at the group of apprentices following Huang Zhichang who are holding notebooks and taking notes. All of them are only in their teens or 20s. Perhaps ten or twenty years later, some of them will become independent technical officials like Huang Zhichang.
The industrial civilization promoted over the past thirty years is forming a legacy in these young people.
At this time, Chen Yixin, who was in Hangzhou, received a secret report from the north. After he saw it, he immediately went to Shi Diwen to report the situation.
"There is news from the capital of Ming Dynasty." Chen Yixin handed the telegram to Shi Diwen and told him to check it himself.
Shi Diwen finished reading the telegram in a few seconds, nodded slightly and said: "The reaction over there is basically within the range of our predictions."
After Zhu Zhongyun and his gang were arrested, the evidence chain of the assassination case was basically solid. Shi Diwen did not wait for the diplomatic department to slowly negotiate the matter. Instead, he ordered the Special Liaison Office to write a diplomatic letter explaining the whole story and Haihan's requirements, and asked the Northern Region to directly send people to land at Dagukou. Beijing and sent to the Forbidden City.
While Yue Shizong in Hangzhou was still trying to mediate with Haihan, the Ming court thousands of miles away had already received the secret telegram sent by Shi Diwen.
Shi Diwen's purpose was to start a war, so he did not want to spend several months using traditional diplomatic paths to resolve the matter. The contents of the secret message clearly pointed out to the Ming court that if the matter was not resolved quickly and properly, Haihan would retaliate in his own way, including but not limited to the use of war. Of course, Shi Diwen also knew very well that the chances of the other party agreeing to the conditions he proposed on behalf of Haihan, whether it was ceding large tracts of land or opening up inland rivers to Haihan, were extremely slim. But to take the initiative to start a war, Ming Dynasty has neither the strength nor the courage.
Shi Diwen believes that the most likely scenario is that Ming Dynasty will try to bring the matter back to the negotiation table to resolve it, and try to avoid another war with Haihan.
The Ming court probably did not expect that this assassination operation, which had been prepared for several months, would fail completely. Not only did it fail to achieve any results, but it was all wiped out by Haihan. There were both witnesses and physical evidence, and the speed of the investigation was beyond imagination.
Because of this, the Ming Dynasty lacked a response plan. At first, it completely denied Haihan's accusations and claimed that it had not ordered anyone to assassinate Haihan's executive committee. However, this denial was obviously useless in the face of irrefutable evidence.
Moreover, the special envoy Haihan sent to the capital also made it very clear that if Ming Dynasty insisted on denying Haihan's accusations, Haihan would immediately use military means.
So the Ming court quickly adjusted its strategy and requested a formal meeting with Haihan's senior officials to resolve the problem through negotiations.
The straight-line distance from Beijing to Hangzhou is more than 2,000 miles. Whether by land or sea, going south or north, it will take some time. In addition, both parties have to coordinate their own high-level schedules, so this matter will take at least a month or two to get a clear picture.
For Shi Diwen, who wanted to force Daming to express his position as soon as possible, he would certainly not be satisfied with the solution given by Daming. In his view, this kind of statement is essentially just delaying time in disguise.
Shi Diwen put down the message and asked Chen Yixin: "How are you preparing over there?"
Chen Yixin said solemnly: "Everything is going according to plan. As long as the executive committee makes a decision, the troops can set off within three days, and they will be divided into three groups by sea and land to attack Shuntian Mansion together!"
Regarding how to conquer the Gyeonggi region of the Ming Dynasty, Haihan began to formulate relevant combat plans more than ten years ago. The main force responsible for combat missions is naturally the northern region closest to the capital.
According to Shi Diwen's plan, as soon as the war starts, the northern battlefield will definitely be one of the key points. Therefore, before that, he had already communicated with Chen Yixin and asked the other party to dispatch troops and horses in advance to prepare for a long march after the war started.
As for Chen Yixin, he actually hopes to further suppress Ming Dynasty and seize Ming Dynasty's population and land resources. But to start a war against the Ming Dynasty again, a legitimate reason is needed to gain the support of the Executive Committee, and the plan hosted by Shi Diwen can provide just such an opportunity to start a war.
It would be much easier to send troops from both directions of Liaodong and Shandong to attack Shuntian Prefecture, which stretches across the plains, than to attack the Manchu Qing Dynasty hiding in the mountains and old forests.
Moreover, the Northern Region has the ability to transport troops from the sea to Dagukou in the Bohai Bay. From there, it is only three hundred miles away from the capital.