1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2176
Ma Zhengping believes that Duan Tiancheng's upright and strict appearance is just a superficial article. The various domineering deeds of Haihan in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang coastal areas in the past few years have been widely circulated among the people. Although Ma Zhengping has never personally experienced it, he has heard too many related rumors. Many, I didn't believe what Duan Tiancheng said was inconvenient.

Although the last time Zhoushan sent people to Yangzhou to use force, it was true that they did not act publicly, but Yangzhou salt merchants including Ma Zhengping believed that this was not because the Zhoushan authorities were afraid of Daming and restrained themselves, but because the Haihan people felt that it was not enough to deal with such a small matter in Yangzhou. It is only necessary to send regular troops.

If the people sent by Zhoushan failed to deal with the musketeers under the Shanshan salt merchants at that time, then maybe when they woke up one day, they would find that the Haihan army was approaching the city of Yangzhou.And this is also the main reason why the Shanshan-Shanxi salt merchants knocked out their teeth and swallowed their stomachs, and did not dare to seek revenge afterwards-if the Haihan people were made anxious, even the government would not be able to protect them.

But what the Shanxian salt merchants were afraid of was exactly the situation that Ma Zhengping was looking forward to.Ma Zhengping entertained Duan Tiancheng, hoping to hear from him a tough statement against the Shanxi salt merchants, so that he can feel at ease and carry out in-depth cooperation with Haihan.

It's just that Duan Tiancheng went around and refused to give a happy word, which made Ma Zhengping very helpless.He felt that the other party had already understood his purpose, and maybe he was trying to manipulate him on purpose.

Of course, Ma Zhengping also knew that what Duan Tiancheng said could not fully represent the official attitude of the Zhoushan authorities, and the statement he expected was actually just to seek a kind of psychological stability.

Although he failed to fully achieve his goal, it was quite a breakthrough for Ma Zhengping to have the opportunity to get in touch with senior military officers in Zhoushan. Even if it was not of much use right now, it might be of great use in the future.

Eating this section alone is obviously not enough to fully express Ma Zhengping's sincerity in making friends with noble people. Seeing that the meal is almost finished, Ma Zhengping asked his subordinates to send a gift list, and handed it to Duan Tiancheng respectfully: "Master Duan, this is the first time we meet. Prepare a little bit of courtesy, and I hope that adults will not dislike it!"

Duan Tiancheng declined a few words with a smile, and finally accepted the gift list under Ma Zhengping's insistence.He opened it and took a look. In addition to the several Yangzhou local specialties that were written, there was also a bulging envelope in the gift list.Duan Tiancheng understood, and did not open the envelope at the moment, so he closed the gift list and accepted it, thanking Ma Zhengping for his kindness.

As a middleman, Xuan Xiangming also had a gift, but compared to the benefits given to Duan Tiancheng, the weight would be slightly inferior.

"I still have official business today, so I won't bother you any more. I will invite Boss Ma to get together another day." After Duan Tiancheng received the benefits, he took the initiative to get up and leave.

Ma Zhengping thought to himself, this is just waiting for my father to give you a gift, and leave after receiving the gift, there is really no delay at all.As for Duan Tiancheng's polite words, he didn't dare to take them seriously. According to his past experience in dealing with people in the officialdom, if officials take the initiative to invite private gatherings, they are probably looking for an excuse to ask for alms from the salt merchants.

Ma Zhengping still doesn't know whether Duan Tiancheng is in this way. He only hopes that after he gives the other party actual benefits, he can get some stronger promises.

After Duan Tiancheng came out of the restaurant, the expression on his face became serious, he called a rickshaw by the side of the road, and immediately returned to the East China Sea Fleet Headquarters in Dinghailing Port.Although it was late at this time, the headquarters is not a shop for business, and there are people on duty 24 hours a day. Duan Tiancheng feels that it is necessary to report the information he just obtained as soon as possible.

From the conversation with Ma Zhengping just now, Duan Tiancheng has actually realized that the situation of the Anhui salt merchants in Yangzhou may not be very good. He repeatedly hinted that he hoped that Haihan could use tough measures to deal with Yangzhou's competitors.

Of course Duan Tiancheng could understand Ma Zhengping's hint, but he really couldn't make any effective promises to the other party.

Today, the diplomatic relationship between Haihan and Ming Dynasty has changed compared to previous years. Apart from guarding the safety of the colonial area and surrounding waters, the Zhoushan garrison can no longer launch offensive military operations against Ming Dynasty at will, at least by Shi Diwen himself. Only the orders given will do.If it is a large-scale operation, it must first report to Sanya for approval.

Based on such a system, even if Duan Tiancheng made some promises that the other party expected, it would not actually have any practical effect, and it was impossible for him to order a battalion of soldiers on his own because of Ma Zhengping's pleading, and then set off to Yangzhou to copy the salt merchant's home. .So after going back and forth for a long time, Duan Tiancheng still didn't let go even after accepting the gift from the other party.

Duan Tiancheng wasn't indifferent to this matter, he thought that since Ma Zhengping was so desperate to beg his disciples, it's very likely that the Huizhou salt merchants couldn't handle it anymore.However, due to his position, it is inconvenient for him to directly intervene in this matter, so he can only report the situation to the top, and the headquarters and the Military Intelligence Bureau will decide how to deal with it.

As soon as Duan Tiancheng entered the compound of the headquarters, he saw an acquaintance, and hurriedly greeted him: "Brother Ji, I happened to need you for something!"

The person Duan Tiancheng greeted was Ji Yuanqing from the Military Intelligence Bureau, one of the commanders of the Yangzhou operation last year. Few people in the Zhoushan authorities knew better about the situation of the salt merchants in Yangzhou than him.

Duan Tiancheng called Ji Yuanqing to stop, and without being wordy, he described Ma Zhengping's situation in a few words.

After hearing this, Ji Yuanqing smiled and said, "This Ma Zhengping will think of a way. He managed to find you here for help by beating around the bush. He must be hoping to get some inside information from you."

Duan Tiancheng said seriously: "Brother Ji, I am a non-staff intelligence officer specially approved by General Shi. I will also memorize the secrecy regulations. How can I easily leak information to outsiders!"

Ji Yuanqing waved his hand and said, "It's just a joke, brother Duan, don't mind. This is not a place to talk, go to my office to talk!"

The office of the Military Intelligence Bureau is actually in the compound of the headquarters, but it is not a few steps away.After entering the office and sitting down, Ji Yuanqing first made a cup of hot tea for Duan Tiancheng: "It smells like wine, did you drink a lot for dinner?"

"That's why we have to deal with Yangzhou salt merchants!" Duan Tiancheng took the teacup with both hands, put it on the table beside him, and said, "This salt merchant is really rich, and the three of us eating this meal just now may be worth it to me." Two months of military pay!"

Ji Yuanqing smiled and said: "Then you have to control yourself and get out of his way!"

Duan Tiancheng said: "These businessmen are generous and good at flattery. It is indeed easy to be bought by them without knowing it. If I hadn't received training in this area when I was studying in Sanya, I might really know how to eat it." set."

Due to the particularity of Haihan's population composition, more than two-thirds of the existing officials are from Ming Dynasty, so it is impossible to prohibit the contacts between officials and people from Ming Dynasty. It is not uncommon in the current period to bribe Haihan officials for personal gain through bribery and other means.

The rule makers at the top are also very clear that whether it is in this era or hundreds of years later, if this kind of thing is completely prohibited by laws and regulations, it is basically impossible to achieve.To the extent that the system can achieve, it is only to draw a red line to let officials know which behaviors are absolutely prohibited, and those who violate them will die.

As for things that are not prohibited, although they may not be legal and compliant, but if you want to play around and get some benefits for yourself, it will not easily cause trouble.

Of course, if someone can't hold back and does some illegal things in order to receive benefits, as long as he is caught, the consequences will be very tragic.Losing an official or resigning is not a trivial matter, and they are usually sent to the hard labor camps in Liaodong or Nanyang to spend the rest of their lives.

During Duan Tiancheng's training in Sanya, there were regulations on secrecy, and when he was in the army, he would be repeatedly ordered to emphasize the importance of military secrets. He had already formed a ideological imprint, but he would not be easily caught by Daming who met him for the first time. Businessmen give routines to get in.

Benefits can be received, but whether things can be done or not, then specific issues need to be analyzed in detail.Duan Tiancheng knew that Ji Yuanqing was in charge of following up on Yangzhou's affairs, so he should be able to get the answers he needed by directly asking him for advice.

"According to what we know, the operating conditions of Huizhou salt merchants represented by the seven surnames have not been very good in recent months. They have been increasingly suppressed by competitors, and their profits have been in a serious decline." Ji Yuanqing introduced to Duan Tiancheng: "If it continues to develop, we believe that Huizhou salt merchants may lose more than [-]% of their current market share within one to two years, and it will be difficult for them to rely on the remaining business to maintain their influence in the Yangzhou salt industry market. Simply put, it is only a matter of time before they are driven out of the market by their competitors.”

Duan Tiancheng was puzzled and said, "Brother Ji, your action in Yangzhou at the end of last year caused heavy damage to the Shanxi salt merchants. Why didn't the Huizhou salt merchants take advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack? It just left the opponent with a chance to recuperate in vain. , and is now passive again.”

Ji Yuanqing said: "It's not that Ma Zhengping and the others have tried to fight back, but they are afraid of wolves and tigers, and their internal opinions are not unified. It is difficult to form a real synergy in the counterattack. Some people want to fight, and some want to fight back. , They never thought about whether their opponents had any plans to make peace."

Duan Tiancheng sighed and said: "Since this is the case, the Shanshan salt merchants will definitely attack them even harder!"

"The situation is exactly like this." Ji Yuanqing nodded and admitted Duan Tiancheng's conjecture: "Although their Musketeers were destroyed by us, this just proved the power of this form of armed force. From the end of last year to this year, we sent troops to Hirado During this period of time, they should have managed to buy a batch of muskets from overseas. However, with the lessons of last year, they dare not point their guns at the salt transport team related to us, and have been concentrating their firepower on them. Competitors who don't have much to fight back."

Compared with competitors with overseas arms suppliers, the situation of Huizhou salt merchants is undoubtedly very embarrassing.They are not short of money, but there is nowhere to buy weapons of equal power.Anhui salt merchants even approached the Zhoushan authorities to buy weapons and ammunition through their connections, but in the end they failed to reach a deal due to various reasons.

Anhui salt merchants were already on the weak side in the competition, but their opponents had begun to use force to attack the salt caravans of Huizhou salt merchants, which soon greatly affected the sales channels of the salt industry under the name of Huizhou salt merchants. .

Ji Yuanqing said: "They are about to become dogs in the water in Yangzhou now, and it is difficult to find someone who is willing to help them out of the predicament. They are in a hurry and go to the doctor. Even if we know that we have the ambition to annex Yangzhou's salt industry, we still have to do it. Bite the bullet and come to us for cooperation."

After listening to Ji Yuanqing's introduction, Duan Tiancheng also understood why Ma Zhengping always revealed a feeling of anxiety in his speech. It is estimated that this trip to Zhoushan to discuss cooperation is already a matter of life and death for the Anhui salt merchants in Yangzhou. No wonder he was in a hurry.

"Then what is our attitude? Stand by and watch, or choose an opportunity to intervene?" Duan Tiancheng asked curiously.

Ji Yuanqing said: "What kind of countermeasures to take is related to what we want to achieve. What do you think our purpose is?"

"Of course it is to control the Jiangsu and Zhejiang salt industry market centered on Yangzhou." Duan Tiancheng gave the answer without hesitation.

"That's right. From this point of view, whether it's the Shanxi salt merchants or Ma Zhengping's camp, they are actually our competitors. But will their disappearance help us take over the salt market? That's not necessarily the case."

Ji Yuanqing continued to analyze: "I have talked with Yang Yun, and he thinks the best situation is that we use the existing distribution channels of Yangzhou salt merchants to operate, we sell salt, and salt merchants sell channels, so that we can take over and sell with the highest efficiency. Control the salt industry market. To achieve this goal, we have to recruit a group of people to our side. There are only two groups of Yangzhou salt merchants, and they are still deadly enemies, so it goes without saying who we should recruit into the group.”

Hearing Ji Yuanqing's analysis, Duan Tiancheng had roughly cleared his mind, nodded and said: "Then supporting the Huizhou salt merchants is the best choice, but if we don't directly intervene, I feel that they will never be able to compete with each other!"

Ji Yuanqing said: "Yes, they think so too, so Ma Zhengping will try every means to test your attitude, and hope you can make a statement on behalf of the military."

Duan Tiancheng smiled wryly: "But I can't express this position. Even if I want to express my position, it's not my turn."

Ji Yuanqing said: "You don't have to belittle yourself, I know that General Shi still values ​​you very much. In addition, the key to this issue is not who will express his opinion, but what kind of support we should give to Huizhou salt merchants to help them defeat their competitors .”

"Selling them salt is definitely not enough." Duan Tiancheng scratched his head and said, "But if we repeat the action at the end of last year, the risk factor will be too great, and the effect may not be ideal."

(End of this chapter)