1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1126 Interests
Feng Fei observed his words while talking, but saw a faint smile on Shen Zhixiang's face, as if he didn't quite believe what he said, so he immediately asked: "Could it be that Mr. Shen also dealt with Haihan people?"

Shen Zhixiang did not answer his question directly, but said unhurriedly: "Hai Han has formed its own country in the south, and brought troops to the defense area of ​​Qishan Station. Master Feng can also help this kind of transgression. Being a virtuous merchant, I am afraid that he has received a lot of benefits from the Haihan people, right?"

Feng Fei's heart trembled, and he quickly explained: "The Haihan people did not disturb the place after they came here. Where did the army come from..." Feng Fei suddenly had a flash of inspiration in his heart, stopped talking and asked: "Master Shen This time going south to Dengzhou, I don’t know where the boat is parked?”

The coast closest to Qishansuo City is the south coast of Zhifu Bay. If Shen Zhixiang came to Fushan County by sea, then his boat is most likely docked on the coast near Yantai Mountain, and that is already the active area of ​​Haihan people. .The Haihan people sent many ships to patrol inside and outside Zhifu Bay every day. If a Ming warship sailed into this water area, they would definitely not turn a blind eye.And if this Shen Zhixiang had no contact with the Haihan people, how could he be so clear about their local situation?
Shen Zhixiang responded calmly: "I will stop in Zhifu Bay right now."

"Then Mr. Shen... have you met the Haihan people?" Feng Fei asked.

Shen Zhixiang didn't deny Feng Fei's guess, nodded and said, "I've seen it."

Feng Fei immediately let go of the big stone in his heart. Since Shen Zhixiang had already had contact with the Haihan people, he probably also received the benefits from the Haihan people.His establishment was not in Terengganu, so he naturally didn't have to worry about any troubles after accepting Haihan's benefits, and he probably wouldn't refuse the sweetness offered by the other party.

However, Feng Fei still didn't dare to judge Shen Zhixiang's true attitude towards Haihan, so he continued to probe immediately: "What is Mr. Shen's impression of Haihan people?"

Shen Zhixiang said: "As long as the eyes are not blind, Haihan's strength can be understood, right? But fortunately, they don't seem to intend to provoke a war to invade Daming, they just want to establish a trade route. Presumably when Master Feng came into contact with them , You also got a similar statement, right?"

Feng Fei was relieved now, nodded and said: "If it is not concluded that they have no malicious intentions, the official will not speak well for them in the official document to Dengzhou."

Shen Zhixiang said: "What do the adults in Dengzhou Prefecture think about it?"

Feng Fei looked embarrassed and didn't answer Shen Zhixiang's question immediately.Shen Zhixiang had already guessed a bit when he saw this, and immediately asked: "Did Dengzhou Prefecture send someone to intervene in this matter?"

Feng Fei still didn't answer his question directly: "Master Shen is from Dongjiang Town after all, so I'm afraid it's inappropriate to ask about Dengzhou Prefecture..."

Shen Zhixiang had already learned from the Haihan people beforehand that the Dengzhou Prefecture sent people to enter Qishan City. Hearing Feng Fei's tone, he knew there must be something hidden in it. The Han people have promised to provide assistance to Dongjiang Town. If there is no peace in Dengzhou, they will not be able to send supplies to Dongjiang Town with peace of mind. This official is not trying to meddle in other people's business, but this is closely related to the interests of Dongjiang Town, so I have to intervene in this matter. thing."

Feng Fei was dumbfounded when he heard this: "Haihan... wants to provide assistance to... Dongjiang Town?"

Regarding the situation of Dongjiang Town, Feng Fei is also quite clear. Although this military group is theoretically under the command of Shandong Capital, because it is stationed overseas, many things are decided by Dongjiang Town itself. It has become a school of its own overseas.After the Denglai Rebellion, the Ming army from Liaodong became the target of public criticism. Many people in the Shandong capital did not like to see this army mainly composed of Liaodong Han people, so they did not give enough support to Dongjiang Town in terms of supplies. One of the reasons why Dongjiang Town was losing ground on the Liaodong battlefield.

Feng Fei personally didn't have much ill feeling towards Dongjiang Town, but if someone wanted to block Dongjiang Town's supplies, he could only do so.Feng Fei is generally aware of the difficulties that Dongjiang Town has faced in the past year. In his view, after the supplies provided by the country are consciously cut off, it will be difficult for Dongjiang Town to persist for a long time relying solely on North Korea's support. is the final outcome.Although this matter has been mentioned in the court long ago, there has been no clear decision, but even if Emperor Chongzhen does not give orders, the people below have a way to slowly turn this intention into reality.

Feng Fei estimated that it would take another one or two years at most. Even if the court did not order the abolition, Dongjiang Town itself would not be able to survive, and most of them would voluntarily disband.It's just that at that time, maybe many people will invest in Houjin in order to survive, and they will make many enemies for Daming in vain.

But Feng Fei did not expect that the Haihan man had already set his mind on Dongjiang Town less than a month after he arrived in Zhifu Bay.Are they really capable of helping Dongjiang Town, which is in famine? In addition, Feng Fei believes that it is absolutely impossible for Haihan to do things for Dongjiang Town without any return.This is a group of extremely shrewd businessmen. If they don't have enough benefits in return, they probably won't take the risk of losing everything to help Dongjiang Town.

Shen Zhixiang's words undoubtedly indicated that some kind of tacit understanding had been reached between Dongjiang Town and the Haihan people, and it seemed unlikely that this kind of deal would be negotiated by Shen Zhixiang, because Feng Fei also knew the situation on Phi Island, and Shen Zhixiang didn't have anything in his hands. With real power, Shen Shikui is still the real master of Dongjiang Town. It is definitely not Shen Zhixiang's turn to decide on such a major event of transnational cooperation.This means that the Haihan people may have already been to Phi Island, and they may even have attracted Shen Zhixiang.

Shen Zhixiang said: "It is inconvenient to disclose the details for the time being, Mr. Feng, I just want to know what Dengzhou Mansion means. If someone interferes, no matter whether it is Dongjiang Town or Haihan people, Dongjiang Town will not let him go!"

Feng Fei felt a chill down his back when he heard this, and aside from Haihan who had stationed thousands of people in Zhifu Bay, this Dongjiang town is not easy to mess with. The Dengzhou Guards Army, which collapsed when it was fought for a year without fighting, was much stronger.Part of the reason why Kong Youde's rebels were invincible in Denglai was that the combat effectiveness of the guards was so poor that they couldn't match the troops that had withdrawn from Liaodong to Shandong.However, Dongjiang Town's combat power was only stronger than Kong Youde's rebels, Feng Fei didn't want the original Wuqiao Mutiny to be staged again in the Qishan Qianhu Office under his jurisdiction.

"Lord Shen, please calm down, let me deal with this matter slowly!" Feng Fei immediately dismissed all his subordinates, and then said to Shen Zhixiang: "It is true that there are people in Dengzhou Prefecture who are hostile to Hai Han. They came here two days ago. General, has taken over local defense."

"So you've been emptied?" Shen Zhixiang asked Feng Fei with a hint of sarcasm.

Feng Fei blushed and said, "I just follow the orders from above and do what I should do."

Shen Zhixiang nodded and said, "Who is that general, and where is he now?"

Feng Fei replied: "This person's name is Shangguanye. It is said that he was transferred from Yanzhou Mansion, and he is currently in the city."

"I've never heard of it." When Shen Zhixiang heard that he was an unknown person, his mood relaxed a lot: "What is this person's attitude towards Haihan?"

Feng Fei replied in a murmur, "Although this person is not well-known, he has a serious temper. After he took over the local area, he ordered the personnel belonging to the Qianhu Office to ground their feet. Except for the sentinels on the pier of Yantai Mountain, they were not allowed to go to the area near Zhifu Bay. activities, and additional personnel were sent to Yantai Mountain to monitor the Haihan people in Zhifu Bay."

Similar to Shangguan Ye, a state-level garrison general, can easily catch twenty or thirty of them in Shandong, so for Shen Zhixiang, not being famous can basically be equated with not being threatened. At most, he needs to be careful. Degree.Shen Zhixiang, as a senior officer in Dongjiang Town, still had a sense of superiority towards the Ming army with low combat effectiveness in Shandong, and he didn't take it seriously in his heart.

After Shen Zhixiang briefly assessed the risks, he made a further request: "Then, can Master Feng arrange for me to meet this Lord Shangguan?"

Now that Feng Fei has been dismissed by the generals from Dengzhou, Shen Zhixiang also knows that there will be no substantive results if he continues to talk with him. Instead of wasting time with him, it is better to talk to the boss directly.

"This..." Feng Fei couldn't help hesitating when he heard the words. Of course he didn't want to be involved in the vortex of interests among Haihan, Dongjiang Town and Dengzhou City. No matter which one of these three parties, he couldn't afford to offend them.At that time, if there is a conflict in the middle, he is likely to be blamed innocently. It is a very painful thing to think about.

"Master Feng, since you can't make the decision, don't act as a shield for others. Be careful that you will hurt yourself!" Seeing Feng Fei's hesitation, Shen Zhixiang immediately said a few harsh words.

Feng Fei also knew that what Shen Zhixiang said was true, he gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, I'll go to invite Lord Shangguan right now, and Lord Shen to wait."

"Thank you!" Shen Zhixiang cupped his hands and watched Feng Fei walk out of the living room.

"He wants to see me?" After a while, Shangguanye was also a little surprised by the news Feng Fei brought: "Why?"

"Probably... it's something about Zhifu Bay." Feng Fei said very tactfully.

"Zhifu Bay?" Shangguanye was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood: "Dare the people from Dongjiang Town come to serve as lobbyists for the Haihan people? It's a good way!"

Feng Fei didn't respond. He could neither admit nor deny this matter. It was the smartest way to say nothing and try to pull himself out of the middle.

However, Shangguanye didn't seem to intend to let him off the hook, and blurted out, "Since he's here as a lobbyist, he must have tried to persuade you first. I don't know what Master Feng said?"

Feng Fei's face was already very ugly, and he stammered in response: "Humble job... I don't know what it means, so I came to Lord Shangguan to make a decision!"

Shangguanye didn't respond immediately, closed his eyes and calculated for a while, and then said: "Your matter, you will settle it slowly later, take me to see him first!"

Uneasy, Feng Fei took Shangguanye back to the living room, and introduced the two to meet.The two followed the official rules and exchanged a few pleasantries before taking their seats.Feng Fei asked someone to serve hot tea again, then he bowed to each other and said: "Since the two adults have important matters to discuss, the humble post will not bother you."

Feng Fei wanted to hide as far away as possible for this kind of thing, and didn't want to stand here and listen to the two people's swords and swords, but unfortunately he still couldn't leave, and Shen Zhixiang had already stopped him: "Master Feng, there is no need to avoid, there is nothing to see Light matters. If you stay, you can mention us as a witness."

Feng Fei thought to himself, why do you gods drag me into the water when fighting, and immediately said with a bitter face: "I'm afraid this is inappropriate?"

Feng Fei looked at Shangguanye's face while talking, wishing that the other party would tell him to get out immediately, he really didn't want to wade into this muddy water.

However, when Shangguanye opened his mouth, he was also disappointed: "It's good for Mr. Feng to stay, lest I get stuck with Mr. Shen, and there is no one around to smooth things over."

Seeing that both of them refused to let him go, Feng Fei sighed secretly, and could only sit back on the chair obediently, waiting for the coming storm.

"Everyone is a busy person, so I'll be straightforward." Shen Zhixiang took the lead and said, "The Haihan people stationed in Zhifu Bay are my partners in Dongjiang Town. I hope that Lord Shangguan will stop doing some unfriendly things. If Lord Shangguan can spare some kindness, Dongjiang Town will definitely remember this benefit, and will repay it twice in the future!"

Shen Zhixiang only said half of what he said, but he believed that the other party would definitely feel the meaning in the words—Dongjiang Town not only remembered the good, but also the bad. There is no escape from punishment.

Shangguanye laughed and said: "Master Shen, you are being polite. I have no intention of opposing Dongjiang Town. It is just that the Haihan people are known for their viciousness in the south and are known as the strongest armed pirates in the South China Sea. If they cooperate with them, I am afraid there will be more pirates in the future." There are many troubles. Our army's fortification of Qishan City is also to prevent them from invading the inland. In my opinion, Mr. Shen should persuade Dongjiang Town as soon as possible to give up cooperation with Haihan people as soon as possible."

"Give up?" Shen Zhixiang sneered: "Can Dengzhou City provide enough food for Phi Island? Can it solve the survival of tens of thousands of Han refugees on the island? If it can be done, I will give up the cooperation with Haihan people here and there. matter! Lord Shangguan, what do you think?"

Shangguanye didn't expect the other party to pick up the topic so clearly. Shandong Dusi did not participate in the formulation of Dongjiang Town's current policy, so he didn't know much about Pidao's situation. But judging from what Shen Zhixiang said, Hai Han obviously gave him unimaginable conditions and supplemented his living conditions, which is why Dongjiang Town is so desperately maintained.But it was really difficult for Shangguanye to directly deal with the problems that Shen Zhixiang had heard.

(End of this chapter)