Chapter 3580
Regardless of whether the other party was seeking information in a private capacity or on behalf of the Ming Dynasty officials, Tao Hongfang would certainly not admit that Haihan was about to launch another war against the Ming Dynasty.
What's more, he has not yet met with Shi Chengwu, who has just returned to Nanjing. He still does not know the real purpose of transferring this fleet to Nanjing, so naturally he cannot express his position easily.
Therefore, no matter how the opponent expressly hinted, Tao Hongfang just insisted that this was a normal defense change and had no intention of attacking Ming Dynasty. Seeing that he couldn't get any useful information from him, the other party could only leave in anger.
I don't know whether the rain prayer ceremony at Da Bao'en Temple a few days ago really worked, or the arrival of the East China Sea Fleet changed Yingtian Mansion's luck. At noon that day, a rain unexpectedly occurred for a long time.
However, this also disrupted Shi Chengwu's plan. He originally wanted to take this opportunity to hold a temporary review ceremony at Yanziji Pier to show the people the mighty appearance of the East China Sea Fleet. However, after the rain, many onlookers dispersed. Holding a review ceremony in the rain would definitely have little effect, so Shi Chengwu had to give up the idea.
It wasn't until the afternoon of that day that Tao Hong met Shi Chengwu, who hurriedly came to hand over the work.
Although they are both officials in Nanjing, they belong to different departments and have busy work schedules, so they cannot meet each other all the time. After a few words of greeting, the two of them turned the conversation to business.
What Tao Hongfang is most concerned about is, of course, the fleet that has just arrived at Yanziji Pier outside the city: "Chengwu, why did the superiors suddenly transfer such a large fleet to Nanjing?"
Shi Chengwu responded: "This is an arrangement by the regional combat headquarters. The purpose is to strengthen armed patrol activities in the Yangtze River Basin and deter Ming Dynasty from acting rashly."
Tao Hongfang asked doubtfully: "Armed patrol? Is this really necessary? There seems to be no news that there are any dangerous developments on the other side in the near future."
Shi Chengwu coughed dryly and said: "Perhaps the superiors feel that our war preparations have been slackened, so they also tightened the clockwork for us."
When Tao Hongfang heard this, he subconsciously glanced at the clockwork clock on the bookcase and thought to himself: Could it be that the higher-ups felt that he was doing nothing in Nanjing and was just lazy and fishing, so he wanted to deploy some military operations to keep the management committee busy? stand up?
But he immediately overturned such an idea. Shi Chengwu's words proved his previous guess that the transfer of the East China Sea Fleet to Nanjing was not an order from the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, but an arrangement from the East China Sea Region Combat Command. It was Shi Chengwu's father, Shi Diwen, who held the military power in the East China Sea Region.
Tao Hongfang didn't know that Shi Diwen had quietly returned to Hangzhou, and that Shi Chengwu was recalled to Nanjing to see him. But it is not difficult for Tao Hongfang to think that this transfer should come from Shi Diwen.
Tao Hongfang did not think that Nanjing's war preparations had slackened. He felt that Shi Diwen's deployment seemed more to increase Shi Chengwu's influence in Nanjing.
However, if such words were said in front of Shi Chengwu, it would be disrespectful to the elders. Tao Hongfang could only ask insinuatingly what kind of support the fleet needed to provide after it was stationed in Yanziji.
Shi Chengwu responded: "I think the most needed support is to control local public opinion and not let the people think that a war is about to break out, so as not to cause unnecessary chaos."
The scale of this fleet far exceeded Shi Chengwu's expectation. He could fully imagine how many unreliable rumors would arise after a large number of people witnessed this fleet stationed in Yanziji.
Once people believe that war is about to break out again, panic may cause a wave of refugees, and the losses that will result are unpredictable.
After Tao Hongfang heard this, he couldn't help but smile: "Chengwu, are you worried that the rumors of war will cause panic among the local people? I think you are overthinking." Shi Chengwu said: "What do you mean by this? Talk?”
Tao Hongfang explained: "As far as I know, the current discussion about this fleet inside and outside the city is indeed very hot, but it has not caused the panic you are worried about. Many people are more concerned about what if our country attacks the Ming Dynasty again. Launch an offensive, so how can ordinary people benefit from it?"
"When everyone thinks that the war situation will be one-sided, there may be many more people who want to take advantage of the war to make money than you and I imagined."
After thinking about it, Shi Chengwu had to admit that what Tao Hongfang said did make some sense.
The strength shown by the Haihan Army in the battle last year, although I can't say that it was overwhelming and easy, at least it was able to defeat the Ming Army without the ability to fight back. The local people who have experienced this war will naturally have a clearer understanding of the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Army.
If war breaks out again, the people will certainly believe that the Haihan army, which is significantly stronger, will continue to win, and the war is unlikely to spread to the Yingtianfu area that has become Haihan territory.
Under such a premise, people's pessimism about the war may indeed not be as great as Shi Chengwu feared.
Tao Hongfang continued: "The really anxious people are on the other side of the river. Some people have come to me today to talk to me. The panic you are worried about may appear, but most likely it will not be on our side."
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When Shi Chengwu asked, Tao Hongconveniently described in detail the process of today's visit by the wealthy businessman from the other side.
Shi Chengwu also knew a little bit about the situation of this wealthy businessman, so it was not difficult to understand Tao Hongfang's story, and he also believed that the other party should represent the Ming Dynasty official.
However, Shi Chengwu also came up with another idea: "Hongfang, as you said, the other side has become nervous when seeing the arrival of this fleet, so I think it is better to take advantage of the situation to add fuel to the flames and create more tension on the other side. Sense.”
"If we can create a wave of chaos on the other side without starting a war, and preferably trigger a wave of refugees, then it will be an effective offensive!"
Tao Hongfang said: "What do you want to do?"
Shi Chengwu said: "Then we have to go back to the topic just now. We need to control public opinion first."
Tao Hongfang understood Shi Chengwu's plan as soon as he heard it, nodded and said: "You mean, we are going to use public opinion to artificially create panic on the other side, so that the people there will take the initiative to flee."
Shi Chengwu added: "Not only do we want them to flee, but we also try to drive them into our territory."
Such measures had not been taken before. Firstly, they did not get the approval of Haihan's senior officials. Secondly, the scale of the locally stationed armed fleet was limited and could not achieve a strong enough deterrent effect.
Now that these two conditions were met, Shi Chengwu couldn't help himself and wanted to give it a try.