Chapter 3315
Qu Deren actually didn't have much confidence in the connections Qin Jian mentioned.
From his perspective, he could roughly guess that the Haihan officer responsible for managing a place like Yanziji Wharf would probably not be a general who leads troops and takes power.
Can a military attache of this level really restore himself to his original position? Qu Deren felt that the possibility of success might not be as great as Qin Jian boasted, but for the sake of face, he didn't question it in person, so he just gave it a try. Anyway, he didn't need to invest any money of his own.
After sending Qin Jian away, he temporarily put the matter behind him.
Qu Deren's family fortune accumulated over the years is quite strong. Even if he can't be a catcher in the future, it will not be difficult to retire and become a rich man in Nanjing.
But he didn't expect that less than an hour later, Qin Jian came back and brought with him the Haihan officer he mentioned.
Yang Jin's purpose of coming was very clear, which was to verify whether Qu Deren's identity was true. If there are no problems, we plan to take him to the interim management committee and recommend this candidate to the superiors.
Qu Deren couldn't believe that things were going so smoothly, and Yang Jin looked very young. If he hadn't been wearing a Haihan military uniform, Qu Deren would have suspected that the man brought back by Qin Jian was a liar.
However, since the opportunity had been presented to him, Qu Deren naturally did not want to miss it, so he hurriedly took out his arrest badge, official uniform, official documents from the yamen, and some investigation manuscripts of the case, and showed them to Yang Jin for review.
The things Qu Deren produced were enough to prove his identity. Yang Jin picked them up one by one and looked at them carefully, and then he slowly felt relieved.
Yang Jin put the things back on the table and asked him a question: "Qu Baotou, what do you think of the current situation in Nanjing?"
Qu Deren was not sure about Yang Jin's intention, but he thought that the purpose of raising this question must be related to the change of ownership of Nanjing, so he responded very cautiously: "The villain thinks that no matter who governs Nanjing, the local people are just If we want a peaceful life, as long as order can be restored as soon as possible, I believe the people will be happy to see it happen. ”
Yang Jin nodded and said: "That's right. Is Naqu Captou willing to serve our country?"
Qu Deren said: "If your country can treat the people of Nanjing well, Qu should do his part for the elders in his hometown! But if they want to burn, kill and loot in Nanjing, then Qu will never help the tyrants!"
Qu Deren actually put forward such a condition, which won Yang Jin's favor. At least this head catcher still had some backbone and was not like a person who could act according to the wind.
As for whether Qu Deren is really so kind, Yang Jin certainly won't believe him so easily.
Yang Jin came from a family of salt merchants in Yangzhou, and his vision was better than ordinary people. One of the reasons why he took the initiative to come to Qu's house was to personally observe the living environment of the head catcher.
Just the furnishings and decorations in the house where Qu Deren lived were certainly not at a level that a low-class head catcher could afford. Where does such a big fortune come from? It cannot be obtained by Qu Deren's good deeds. He has been working as a yamen official for decades, and he has also done many things to enrich his own pockets.
Of course, what methods Qu Deren used to make money was not Yang Jin's focus. As long as Qu Deren can serve Haihan now, there is no need to investigate whether his previous actions during the Ming Dynasty were spotless.
Yang Jin knew that his superiors were eager to take effective measures to deal with Nanjing's public security issues, so he didn't waste any time and asked Qu Deren to go with him to see his superiors.
So Qu Deren was taken outside the imperial city in the east of the city. He was very familiar with the various yamen in this area. He used to come to these places to do business when he was an errand.
However, the owner of this place has changed now. The door plaque of the Dongcheng Military and Horse Division has been removed and replaced by the Garrison Headquarters and Provisional Management Committee. Although Qu Deren didn't quite understand what a headquarters was and what a management committee was, he could infer from the busy scene here that this place should be the command center of the Haihan Army in Nanjing City.
Given Yang Jin's position, he had to go through a briefing before he could meet his superiors.
Yang Jin took Qu Deren and first went to see the garrison logistics director to explain the situation. The logistics director also participated in the previous meeting, and naturally knew that his superiors were trying to recruit local security officers, so he immediately took them to see Shi Chengwu, who was in charge of the matter.
After Shi Chengwu briefly asked about Qu Deren's personal situation, he stood up and said, "I happen to be going to report on the military situation. You guys go with me."
The person who is qualified to let Shi Chengwu report the military situation face to face is naturally his father Shi Diwen.
When Qu Deren was brought to Shi Diwen, he was still a little dazed. He didn't expect to meet the big shot of Haihan so soon.
Shi Diwen has been running the Donghai Region for more than 20 years, and his name is well known in the Jianghuai area. Moreover, during this siege, news had already spread in Nanjing that Shi Diwen was in command of the Haihan Army.
"So you are Qu Baotou. I didn't expect to meet you so soon."
Qu Deren couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard this: "Shuai Shi knows about the villain?"
Shi Diwen said: "Look at this."
General Shi Cheng handed a book to Qu Deren. He took it and flipped through it. It turned out to be the roster of the yamen servants of the third class of Yingtian Mansion. His name was naturally on it.
Shi Diwen said: "Our army has just taken over the city of Nanjing, and it is now the time to recruit people. We originally wanted to search for people on this list to see which knowledgeable people are willing to come forward to help us manage Nanjing. . But there is no address recorded in this roster, so it’s very troublesome to find it. I didn’t expect you to show up so quickly.”
Only then did Qu Deren understand why Yang Jin was so anxious to bring him to meet his boss. It turned out that the Haihan people were already looking for someone. If it were two or three days later, someone else would probably find him. The credit falls to others.
Qu Deren had been in the yamen for so many years, so he naturally understood the worldly ways of the officialdom. He immediately responded: "The villain's relatives are working under Mr. Yang. When Mr. Yang heard about the villain's situation, he immediately went to his home and persuaded him to do so. The villain will continue to do his job.”
Qu Deren's words are equivalent to returning a favor to Yang Jin. If you introduce senior officials for me to help me reinstate myself, then I will repay the favor for you.
Shi Diwen said: "Nowadays, the public security situation in Nanjing is very bad, and various thefts and robberies occur frequently. What are Qu Baotou's ideas?"
Qu Deren said: "The villain thinks that we must first strengthen the inspection of the city gates, as well as the setting up of checkpoints and patrols in the city, to deter thieves."
"Secondly, a special arrest team should be formed to investigate cases and catch the thieves."
"Then we will raid several dens of thieves and channels for selling stolen goods in the city, and try to get rid of the gangs of thieves who work in groups as soon as possible."
(End of chapter)