1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2174
Ma Zhengping originally wanted to test Xuan Xiangming's tone and see if the other party could help him, but he didn't expect that Xuan Xiangming knew far more information than himself, and he was fascinated by it for a while. After all, the two countries There are few opportunities in this era where you can watch the excitement and listen to gossip without worrying about fighting without involving Ming Dynasty.

Of course, he also noticed that many details of the information that Xuan Xiangming possessed should come from the accounts of those who experienced it. Obviously, the other party has a more direct source of information, rather than all the hearsay from various rumors in the market.

Ordinary people only know that the Haihan army won a complete victory in Hirado, but only the soldiers who participated in the battle know the specifics.This was exactly what Ma Zhengping wanted. He originally planned to try to find a chance to get acquainted with people in the Haihan army through Xuan Xiangming, and now it seems that there is a possibility of success.

"Boss Xuan knows so much about this battle, so he must have acquaintances and friends in the Haihan Army?" After Xuan Xiangming had finished speaking, Ma Zhengping asked tentatively.

Xuan Xiangming smiled and said, "I'm not really close friends... I have a distant relative who just happened to serve in the Haihan Army and participated in the campaign against Hirado this time, so I will know more. "

Ma Zhengping's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he hurriedly asked: "I didn't expect Boss Xuan to have such a relationship, so can I let you do something, and listen to this military man tell the story of the war in person?"

"I didn't see that Boss Ma was so interested in this marching and fighting."

Although Xuan Xiangming talked a lot, he was not stupid, so he could naturally sense that Ma Zhengping had an unusual interest in it.When the two of them were watching the military parade in Dinghai Port earlier, it seemed that Boss Ma was not as interested in the Haihan Army as he is now. Obviously, in the past two months or so, Ma Zhengping's thoughts had occurred. some wonderful transformations.

Ma Zhengping said calmly: "The next time I come here, I plan to buy land on Zhoushan Island to build a business store, and will operate here for a long time in the future. Zhoushan is the place where the Haihan Kingdom garrisons, so of course we must try to get acquainted with some soldiers. Only middle-aged people can do it. If Boss Xuan can introduce it for you, I will definitely pay you back in the future!"

Ma Zhengping's words sounded quite reasonable, and Xuan Xiangming didn't expect that Ma Zhengping had other plans. In his opinion, it's not a big deal to introduce Ma Zhengping in the middle. Since the other party said that he would write down this favor, Xuan Xiangming thought it would be a good idea to help out.Maybe Ma Zhengping would be able to help him if he needed anything in Yangzhou in the future.

Yangzhou salt merchants want to set up shop in Zhoushan, even if Xuan Xiangming is not in this business, he can taste some unusual flavors.After all, in the semi-public bloody battle that took place in Yangzhou a few months ago, anyone with a discerning eye knew that it was Haihan who taught the local salt merchants a lesson.

Haihan did not openly declare war on the Yangzhou salt merchants at that time, so even if the local government knew that the person who attacked was most likely from Zhoushan, they could only pretend to be deaf and dumb, defining this vicious fight with many casualties as a civil conflict, and trying to settle the situation. Fang then hastily closed the case.Although the Shanshan salt merchant who suffered a big loss was unwilling, he also knew that it would be unwise to openly challenge Haihan, so he could only swallow the knocked out tooth.

And because Xuan Xiangming had distant relatives in the Haihan army, he happened to know more about the inside story.For example, he knew a thing or two about the infighting between the two factions of salt merchants in Yangzhou.Now that Ma Zhengping is visiting Zhoushan for the second time, and he has stated that he will establish a commercial warehouse here for long-term operation, it seems that Haihan officials have reached an agreement with some Yangzhou salt merchants including Ma Zhengping. There will be Haihan involved.

With Xuan Xiangming's knowledge, of course, it is not enough to infer from this fragmented information in what direction Daming Salt Industry will change, and what impact this change will have on Daming's economy, he only subconsciously I believe that the cooperation between Yangzhou salt merchants and Haihan people is a strong alliance. They need money and money, and guns and guns. I am afraid that it will be difficult for anyone to stop them from dominating the salt industry.

As for whether the struggle of the local salt merchants in Yangzhou is over and whether Ma Zhengping will still face huge competitive pressure, it is not a problem at all for Xuan Xiangming, an outsider. After all, they have already embraced the thigh of Shanghai Han. Can't this business make money?
Based on this judgment, Xuan Xiangming thought it would be good to take this opportunity to introduce Ma Zhengping to his distant relatives.Ma Zhengping's ability to open a business store in Zhoushan shows that he has been officially recognized. As long as the contacts do not involve those military secrets, there should be no serious problems.

"Since Boss Ma is interested, I will contact you later and arrange another time to meet. What do you think?"

Ma Zhengping naturally agreed, and said that he would find a restaurant with a better environment in the urban area, and invite Xuan Xiangming to eat and chat with his distant relatives.Of course, the sooner the better, he hoped to get more information before deciding whether to immediately spend money to build a commercial warehouse in Zhoushan.

After all, once the store is built, it is equivalent to publicizing the cooperative relationship with Haihan, and the Shanxi salt merchants have been quietly paying attention to the turmoil in Zhoushan, and their big actions in Zhoushan must not be hidden from their eyes and ears. If the struggle between the two sides is further intensified, more troubles may arise for Huizhou salt merchants.It is natural to confirm the attitude of the Haihan military before building the store, so the safety factor will be higher.

But the only problem is that Ma Zhengping still doesn't know what position Xuan Xiangming, a distant relative, holds in the Haihan Army.Xuan Xiangming was only willing to reveal that he was an officer, so he didn't have any more information. Ma Zhengping could only pray that this man would not be the most low-level officer. Maybe they don't know about the cooperation with the Huizhou salt merchants at all.

Ma Zhengping bid farewell to Xuan Xiangming and left with anxiety. Unexpectedly, as soon as he came out of Xuan Xiangming's shop, he heard someone greet him. When he turned around, he recognized this person. He had met him the last time he came to Zhoushan. Mu Jian, the contractor.

Ma Zhengping remembered that Mu Jian took him to go through the land purchase procedures at that time, but because the government temporarily set up restrictions to stop foreign businessmen from going through the land purchase procedures on Zhoushan Island, the establishment of a commercial warehouse was temporarily shelved.Recalling his connections in Zhoushan earlier, Ma Zhengping only thought of Xuan Xiangming, but forgot that he had dealt with Mu Jian.

Of course, having said that, Mu Jian was just a contractor directing the construction of a house, and the importance in Ma Zhengping's eyes was definitely not as important as that of his colleague Xuan Xiangming.

After exchanging pleasantries between the two, Mu Jian took the initiative to ask him if he had already purchased the land in Zhoushan, implying that if he wanted to build a commercial storehouse, he hoped that Ma Zhengping could entrust him with the business.

Ma Zhengping thought to himself that he could indeed start preparing for the construction of the storehouse, otherwise he would wait until he sorted out the official affairs of Haihan before taking care of this end, and it would take a lot of time.So he asked Mu Jian to look out for suitable land in the city for himself, and after completing the relevant procedures, he would hand over the construction of the commercial warehouse to the other party.

Seeing that Ma Zhengping gave himself a big deal so readily, Mu Jian was overjoyed at the moment, and quickly said that he would choose the land as soon as possible and ask Ma Zhengping to check it on the spot.

Ma Zhengping's requirements for the land are also very simple - the area is large enough and close to the port area.With a large area, you can build a livable house for yourself in addition to building a commercial storehouse; being close to the port area is to facilitate the import and export of goods by sea. After all, you will buy a large amount of salt and other commodities from Zhoushan in the future. A place close to the port area can not only improve the transshipment efficiency, but also save a lot of freight in the long run.

Of course, the land that can meet his two requirements will definitely not be cheap. If Mu Jian manages well, he can get another commission from it. This kind of business is not something that can be encountered at any time, Mu Jian Jian will definitely pay special attention to this.

Xuan Xiangming didn't keep Ma Zhengping waiting too long, and sent someone to the hotel where Ma Zhengping was staying the next day to inform him that a meeting time had been arranged.

Ma Zhengping was also unambiguous. That night, he booked a suite in a high-end restaurant in the urban area, and hosted a banquet for Xuan Xiangming and his military relatives.

As Ma Zhengping's host, he had to be there first, but he didn't have to wait too long. Xuan Xiangming and the person he wanted to introduce to Ma Zhengping arrived a little earlier than the agreed time.

After the meeting, Xuan Xiangming took the initiative to introduce in the middle: "Boss Ma, this is my distant cousin Duan Tiancheng, who is now leading troops in the East China Sea Fleet of the Haihan Kingdom, and is officially named a major. Tiancheng, this is what I mentioned to you yesterday. Ma Zhengping, the boss of Yangzhou salt merchant, has arrived!"

Ma Zhengping saw that this Tiancheng was tall and strong, with a dark complexion, and a Haihan-style short haircut. He looked quite young. It was very obvious, and immediately stepped forward to salute and said: "I have heard about Major Duan's name for a long time, and he is a first-class general in the Haihan Army. When I saw him today, he is indeed very powerful. It is really a pleasure to meet Ma!"

Duan Tiancheng also responded with a smile and cupped his fists: "Boss Ma is too praised, Duan is just an ordinary soldier in the Haihan army, he cannot deserve such a compliment!"

Ma Zhengping had already done some homework beforehand, and after listening to Xuan Xiangming report the other party's military rank, he knew that this man's status was not low, and that a Han Chinese born in Ming Dynasty could be promoted to a major in the Haihan Army at such a young age. A job, either because of outstanding ability and outstanding military exploits, or because of being favored by the boss, or a combination of both, in short, it is definitely not an ordinary role.Based on this view, Ma Zhengping first gave the other party a few high hats to show his respect.

Ma Zhengping had sharp eyesight, and indeed he didn't miss him.If one were to select the most promising young officers in the East China Sea Fleet, Duan Tiancheng would probably be among the top few.

Duan Tiancheng went to Zhoushan to make a living when he was young, at that time this place was still a place of mixed fish and dragons, Duan Tiancheng worked with a group of armed sea merchants for several years in smuggling business at sea.Later, when the Haihan Army captured Zhoushan, Duan Tiancheng's employer broke up, and he simply defected to the Haihan Army in order to make a living.Because of his familiarity with the local sea conditions, he was quickly promoted to the flagship of the Haihan Fleet as a temporary navigator, assisting the fleet to eliminate the civilian armed forces in the Zhoushan Islands.

After going back and forth, Duan Tiancheng quickly got the opportunity to study further by relying on his accumulated military achievements.In the newly established East China Sea Fleet at that time, he was one of the first batch of reserve officers sent by Shi Diwen to the Sanya Naval Academy for further study. Naturally, the major was not surprised.

A few months ago, the Zhoushan authorities and the Ningbo government jointly arrested Sun Feizhou, a remnant party member of the Eighteenth Zhi in Ningbo City. Duan Tiancheng acted on behalf of Haihan, and jointly implemented it with Cui Hongfang, the commander of Ningbo Dinghaiwei.

Although the operation failed to capture Sun Feizhou alive in the end and let him commit suicide by taking poison before he was arrested, it also successfully destroyed the stronghold of the Eighteenth Zhiyu Party in Ningbo City, and seized the muskets and ammunition in private possession. It was basically completed. intended target.

In fact, because the arrest was carried out in Ningbo City, it was inconvenient for the Haihan army to do it. Cui Hongfang's men were responsible for the arrest throughout the entire process. Duan Tiancheng was just supervising the battle on the spot as a military observer. joy.Putting him in charge of this task was partly due to Shi Diwen's arrangement for him to score.

Of course, this arrangement is also out of trust in Duan Tiancheng's ability, Shi Diwen's subordinates don't want to keep wine bags and rice bags.Afterwards, Duan Tiancheng was also in the fleet when he went to fight in Hirado. After returning, he described some combat experiences to his cousin Xuan Xiangming, and then passed it to Ma Zhengping through Xuan Xiangming.

Duan Tiancheng was born in Ming Dynasty, so he didn't have any resistance to getting acquainted with people from Ming Dynasty. Xuan Xiangming said that he wanted to introduce a businessman who admired him, and Duan Tiancheng asked about the identity of the other party and agreed.

Why did the salt merchant from Yangzhou take the initiative to get acquainted with him? Of course Duan Tiancheng would not ignore such a question.He probably knew much more about what happened in Yangzhou than Ma Zhengping.Ji Yuanqing, who led the team to Yangzhou with Gong Shiqi at that time, was a good friend with Duan Tiancheng.Duan Tiancheng is also aware of Zhoushan authorities' attitude towards Yangzhou salt merchants who fight against each other.

It goes without saying that the Yangzhou salt merchants who can come to Zhoushan Island must belong to the faction that was wooed by the Zhoushan authorities.After arriving in Zhoushan, these salt merchants tried their best to get acquainted with officials and took the upper-level route, which is also expected.After all, their future business prospects in Yangzhou depend to a large extent on how much support the Zhoushan authorities will give them.Duan Tiancheng thought that the other party probably had some kind of special purpose.

But Duan Tiancheng didn't mind this, since he had something to ask for, he would definitely provide some benefits in exchange for his cooperation.The salt merchants in Yangzhou are the most wealthy in the world, and they must not be shabby, but they can look forward to it a little.

(End of this chapter)