1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1054

Almost at the same time that Wanfa received Gong Shiqi and his party, another lucky boat slowly docked at another wharf about two miles downstream of the Qiantang River.Several laborers waited for the gangplank to be set up, and wanted to rush forward to get work, but when they saw that the men who got off the boat all had standard swords hanging from their waists, they immediately stopped in fear.Teams like this that swagger through the city with swords are either high-status dignitaries or military attachés, no matter which one they are, they are objects that ordinary people need to keep a safe distance from.

Not long after, a middle-aged man came down from the boat, dressed in a silk gown with a five-bat holding birthday card, a square flat scarf on his head, and a short thick beard on his chin. When he got down, his steps were extremely steady.If there is a person who knows how to do it, it can be seen from his walking posture that his footwork is very solid, which is the quality that a person who has practiced martial arts all year round will possess.

The man went down to the pier by the shore, looked around, and then said lightly, "It's getting late, hurry up and hire some people to move the luggage off the boat quickly, don't miss entering the city today."

Immediately, some attendants greeted the laborers who were standing by and watched the excitement, and asked them to come and do things.A bold person leaned forward and whispered to the entourage to inquire about the origins of this team, and the entourage responded proudly: "My master is Mr. Qiao Nanqiao, a thousand households in Dinghaiwei, Ningbo Prefecture. This time, he is here to handle official business in Hangzhou Prefecture... You have to be careful when you carry the box, there are many valuables inside, if you break it, you will not be able to afford to pay for it!"

Since he is the military attaché of the Ningbo Prefecture, it is reasonable to have such a style, but Hangzhou is the seat of Zhejiang Province, and there are hundreds of high-ranking officials in the city. In Ningbo, he may still have some influence, but in Hangzhou, he is actually not a big shot.After hearing the attendant report the identity of the master, the laborers felt a lot more relaxed.

The group spent an hour unloading goods on the pier, hired three large vehicles and a four-seater soft sedan, and then set off for the Chaochao Gate in the southeast of Hangzhou City.Fortunately, this place is not far from Hangzhou City, otherwise they might not be able to catch up and enter the city before closing the city gate.

The Chaochao Gate was first built in the Wuyue Kingdom during the Five Dynasties. When building the city, bricks and stones were packed in bamboo cages and transported to the bottom of the city by carts to serve as the foundation of the city, so it was named Bamboo Car Gate.During the Southern Song Dynasty, this city gate was rebuilt. Because it is close to the Qiantang River, you can watch the ebb and flow of the tide every day, so it was renamed Houchao Gate.In the book "Old Stories of Wulin" written by Zhou Mi, a poet of the Southern Song Dynasty, there is also a record of Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty going out of the city to watch the tide from Houchao Gate.Outside the tide-waiting gate, many pavilions dedicated to watching the tide have been built, such as Yingjiang Tower, Caoge, Yingfa Pavilion, Zhangting Station and so on.

When the team of Lord Qianhu walked all the way to the waiting tide gate, the soldiers guarding the gate were already moving the rejected horses lying on the side of the road back into the city gate, and were about to close the gate and go out of business.Seeing this group of people coming in a hurry, the small principal who led the group waved his hands impatiently and said, "Wait, stop! You can't enter the city today, come back tomorrow morning!"

"Wait a minute, my lord, they are all our own people, our own people!" The entourage here quickly walked over, showed the identity of the team to the small school, and showed him the official document issued by Haiwei, the prefecture of Ningbo, It indicated that Qianhu Qiaonan went to Hangzhou to handle military affairs.

The Xiaoxiao looked at the people in front of him again. Although they were not wearing military uniforms, they did have a murderous aura that couldn't be concealed, and it didn't look like they were pretending.Moreover, the swords worn by several people are obviously the standard equipment in the army.Although the Qianhu from the foreign guards station is not a high-ranking official in Hangzhou, but for a low-level military officer like him, he can be regarded as a big man who cannot be offended. He immediately greeted two of his subordinates, intending to pretend to check the few who entered the city. Is there any contraband on the cart.

Seeing this, the attendant said again: "Please be careful when you check, these boxes contain a lot of gifts for the adults in the army, among them are Haihan glassware brought from the south, which are very easy to break, don't let them break. Touch it, otherwise it’s hard to explain.”

Hearing this, the small school naturally felt that one more thing is worse than one less thing, and immediately omitted the inspection, and asked his subordinates to let the team enter the city quickly.He wasn't really afraid of breaking some treasures, but he knew that most of the officers of Dinghaiwei in Ningbo were sea merchants who donated money to their ranks. He might not be able to see anything hidden in the luggage. If the time comes out, everyone's faces will be ugly.It's better to let them enter the city directly, and save the trouble, and they can withdraw the team and go back to rest earlier.

When the team was halfway into the city, another follower came over to thank the small school: "My lord has said that you brothers have worked hard on duty, and I have a little silver, please close the team and have a drink." Five taels of silver was stuffed into the hands of the little principal.

The little school was very happy now, and quickly clasped his fists and said: "Thank you for the reward, sir!"

After this group of people entered the city, someone came to pick them up and took them to an inn not far from Chaochao Gate to stay.This inn is also one of the properties operated by Haihan in Hangzhou City. However, considering the complicated situation in the city and the identities played by Gao Qiaonan's team, they did not clear the inn like Chengfengxing before moving in. They just cleared the inn. The courtyard where the upper house was opened was contracted, while the operations in other areas continued as usual without any change.Not long after Gao Qiaonan and his group stayed, the innkeeper took the initiative to visit him.

"Humble Zhang Wanfu, see Shangguan." The innkeeper is a man in his 40s, with a harmless appearance, but he is indeed very suitable for running an inn, a business that requires frequent dealings with people.

"Boss Zhang is free of courtesy." Gao Qiaonan was still very polite to his own people, without putting on airs: "The Ministry of Commerce has notified you before, right?"

Zhang Wanfu responded: "Beizhi was notified five days ago, so he ordered someone to clean up the yard here. It's just that the order from above was vague and didn't say anything in detail. He only asked me to cooperate with the superior. If there is any need, Xiaozhi Will do my best.”

"What we are going to do in Hangzhou this time cannot be made public. You are a member of the Ministry of Commerce. The less you know, the safer it will be for you." Gao Qiaonan explained a few words, and then urged: "We This group of people live in your store as officers of the Ming army. You must be more careful in addressing them in the future. Don’t call yourself a humble job. You are now the owner of the inn, and I am an officer of the Ming army. I am your guest. Here There is no affiliation between superiors and subordinates, so don't let people get hold of it!"

"Yes, yes, the villain remembers." Zhang Wanfu was startled, and quickly changed his answer.

Zhang Wanfu was not a professionally trained agent or soldier, but because he was born in Zhejiang, the Ministry of Commerce selected him to run the inn in Hangzhou, and he was conscripted by the Ministry of Security as a part-time intelligence officer.In fact, his main job here is not to collect intelligence. Most of the time he just presides over the management of this inn. However, he has kept his true identity a secret. Until now, no one around him knows his true identity. He is from Haihan.

This reception of the team led by Takahashi Minami was the first time he received a large number of people from Haihan after he started working in Hangzhou. Although he was a little excited to see his partners from the same camp, he was more concerned about the unknown situation. Uneasy, because the purpose of this group of people coming to Hangzhou is secret, and all of them have a dead face, obviously not here to travel and relax.What Gao Qiaonan said just now, his attitude has been clearly expressed, and he just doesn't intend to involve him in it.

And Zhang Wanfu is not as active as Wanfa of Chengfengxing. He just has a part-time job in the security department. If he wants to perform in this kind of secret operation, he is really risking his life.Gao Qiaonan didn't want to talk about the action arrangement with him, but Zhang Wanfu couldn't wish for it. He didn't want to take great risks to be involved in these things.

Gao Qiaonan asked again: "How far is it from Fengshan Gate?"

Zhang Wanfu answered truthfully, "No more than Li Xu."

Gao Qiaonan nodded noncommittally, and then ordered: "Tomorrow, you can find one or two guides who are familiar with the local area and take us around the city. Don't tell us our identities, just say that we are marine merchants from Zhoushan. The reward can be given It should be thicker, but people must be reliable and control their mouths."

Zhang Wanfu replied: "This matter is easy to handle. Hangzhou City is a big city in the east of Zhejiang Province. There used to be a lot of idlers in the city who specialize in this tour guide business. Some of them have a lot of connections, and they can even help officials from other places try to get through their joints." The villain also knows a few reliable people, so I will call them over tomorrow."

Gao Qiaonan continued: "During our stay at the inn, we asked your buddies not to come and go in and out of this yard at will. If there is anything we need, we will naturally bring it up. Also, no matter what happens, you are just the innkeeper. There is no special relationship between people, understand?"

"Understand, understand! The villain understands!" Zhang Wanfu actually didn't understand what was going to happen at all, but he also knew that it was best not to show confusion in front of the chief, so he responded immediately before speaking.He was already thinking about how this group of people would not let the guys in the store enter the yard, how to explain to their subordinates, so as to avoid making them suspicious of the whereabouts of Gao Qiaonan and others during their stay in the store.

Early the next morning, Zhang Wanfu found two reliable tour guides, negotiated a high price of one tael a day, and took Gaoqiaonan's people to go shopping around the city.In order not to attract too much attention, Gao Qiaonan and his group, who had already transformed into businessmen, did not go out with swords anymore, only a few of them carried daggers on their bodies as self-defense.

These so-called tour guides are originally idlers without regular jobs. They can earn six or seven taels of silver a month by relying on all kinds of messy business. It is relatively easy for someone to hire them as guides for one or two days. Of course, I am happy to continue the work.If you bring this kind of high-roller who is willing to spend money to play in Hangzhou, maybe there will be other rewards later after you have a good time.

However, the guide's plan will probably come to nothing. The group of people they brought along are not rich businessmen and literati who come to visit the mountains and rivers, and they don't plan to go to those gold-selling caves where they spend their days and drinks to pass the time.Before coming to Hangzhou, Gao Qiaonan had a certain understanding of some important locations and regional markers in the city. After coming here, he conducted on-the-spot inspections of the target areas in order to reconfirm the various papers he had mastered before. information.

The places Gao Qiaonan is interested in are, firstly, the locations of various yamen in the city, and secondly, the neighborhoods where officials' mansions are concentrated in the city.Most of the things to be done in Hangzhou this time have to be done in these two places, so Gao Qiaonan must first confirm the environment of these places, and then discuss the specific action plan with Gong Shiqi, otherwise everything can only be It's just talking on paper.

The two guides took Gao Qiaonan and others around a few yamen in the east of the city, seeing that these foreign visitors did not intend to go to other places for eating and playing, although they didn't say anything, they showed a lack of interest. It was Takahashi Minami who saw it.He flirted with the person in charge of organizing the itinerary in the team, and that person would call the two of them to the side and explained to him: "You two, my master Qiao came to Hangzhou this time for a business, and he plans to find a relationship to donate money to fill the vacancy." Yes, don’t you have to find the place first, so you can visit the door later! You two have taken good care of me, and my master’s affairs are running smoothly, so your rewards are naturally indispensable.”

After hearing this, one of them said: "The villain knows a few people in the yamen. I don't know if Mr. Qiao wants to donate fame, or just buy an official position? If he wants to get fame, or donate a magistrate or something like that." Yes, the villain may be able to help think of a way."

These words may be effective in deceiving the bumpkins, but the person who deals with them is also an old man in the field team of the Ministry of Security. He has seen many people from all over the world, so it is natural to see that the guide is just bragging and trying to cheat some errand money. He sneered at the moment : "The position that my master wants to donate, the fifth rank is up, do you dare to take it? You can try it if you are not afraid of losing your head."

The guide took a breath of air: "Fifth grade up? How much money will it cost..."

"This is a small amount of money for my master, understand? Don't talk too much, do what you have been told, and you will be rewarded later!"

"understand!"

The two guides exchanged glances, and they both thought that they had met a big local tyrant this time.They have heard of such things as donating money to an official position, but they are usually only small officials of the sixth and seventh ranks, and they have to queue up to fill the vacancies. This uncle actually wants to spend money to donate to a fifth-rank official. Cowhide.But judging by the way people go out, they can support so many bodyguards and entourages. They are definitely not ordinary rural rich men, and most of them are wealthy businessmen who do big business as they said.This kind of person has too much money and has no place to spend it. It is also possible to spend money to buy an official position to enjoy the officialdom.

(End of this chapter)