1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2378
The series of control measures currently adopted by Haihan in Fushan County are aimed at protecting the local area in troubled times, or taking advantage of the chaos to expand the control area beyond Fushan County, and even take down the entire Dengzhou. These possibilities actually have no significant impact on the officials and lords in the county who have long been emptied.They now only have empty titles, no real power to speak of, and no ability to influence Haihan's decision-making. It is the most sensible way to keep themselves from being involved in the ensuing chaos.

Although Han Qin has no real power, he has been a headhunter in Fushan County for many years, and he has met a lot of local people from all walks of life. It is not difficult to ask someone to send a letter to Majiazhuang outside the city. That's it.

But after Ma Cai, the young master of the Ma family, read the secret letter sent by the county, he didn't dare to make a decision immediately, but took the letter to ask Ma Dongqiang for instructions first.

"The magistrate asked us for help?" After hearing what his son said, Ma Dongqiang took the letter and read it again, and he was still a little bit guilty at the moment: "Are they a little too nervous? The refugees haven't even entered Dengzhou yet. Is this going to run away early?"

Ma Cai said: "Perhaps these adults just want to take advantage of this opportunity to take refuge in Haihan in a legitimate way."

Ma Dongqiang sneered and said: "These people don't stand up to appease the people, they only want to use Haihan's protection to protect themselves. No wonder Haihan has been unwilling to use them... At this juncture, it may not work to rely on Haihan!"

Ma Dongqiang naturally saw clearly how Haihan treated the local officials in Fushan. After the county government was gradually removed, some of the functions of the original county government were even handed over to the Ma family.Apart from their identities and standpoints, the reason why Haihan didn't trust these officials was also because he could see that these people didn't have a strong sense of responsibility, and it was difficult to entrust them with important responsibilities.

However, Haihan did not embarrass them, on the contrary, he also supported them to continue investing in the business industry, indirectly providing them with a lot of benefits.Although these few people have no hope of promotion in their official careers, their family fortunes have become much better over the past few years, which can be said to be a blessing in disguise.From now on, even if he resigns from office and becomes idle, he can still live the life of a rich man, and there is absolutely no need to worry about his livelihood for the rest of his life.

Ma Cai heard that his father was not happy with these people's actions, so he asked tentatively: "The child will stop this matter?"

Ma Dongqiang shook his head slightly and said: "They came to you for help. I think you owe them something. Why don't you take this opportunity to settle it. As for whether to let them go to the island, it's not something you and I can decide. You don't need to decide from it." You don’t need to say good things for them, everything is left to Haihan to make a decision. Remember, don’t pretend to be smart and make decisions on Haihan’s behalf!”

Ma Cai's heart trembled slightly when he heard this, and he quickly bowed down to answer.He thought he had Chen Yixin, his brother-in-law, as his backer, and he rarely had any scruples in doing things. Apart from his old father's lessons, it was difficult for him to listen to other people's opinions.At this time, after listening to Ma Dongqiang's warning, Ma Cai also realized that he almost made a mistake just now.

After the father and son finished talking, Ma Cai took the letter from Han Qin and went to the temporary headquarters next to Majiazhuang to find Chen Yixin.The fate of these three people will be left to Chen Yixin to decide.

It can be said that Chen Yixin has been very busy in the past few days. Meetings followed one after another, and there were a lot of things that he needed to personally ask and make decisions on.Ma Cai waited outside the meeting room for about half an hour before finally arriving at Chen Yixin.

Chen Yixin read the letter from the county almost at a glance, and asked Ma Cai in a deep voice, "Are you sure it was written by Zhang Zhixian?"

Ma Cai quickly replied: "It is indeed Zhang Zhixian's handwriting that is correct."

Chen Yixin pondered for a moment, and then told Ma Cai: "Then you go and make arrangements to bring these three people and their families out of the county... Do this matter at night, try not to make too much noise, and don't publicize it , so as not to affect the hearts of the people.”

Just as Ma Dongqiang judged, Chen Yixin didn't have any special affection for these three people. The reason why he kept providing resources to support these three people was mainly because he wanted to buy horse bones with a thousand dollars, to show Haihan's goodwill to the outside world, and to show his kindness to Daming. Special treatment for officials.However, the qualifications of these three people are mediocre, and their positions are vacillating. In Chen Yixin's view, there is no value for in-depth use. It can also feel better on the face.

Now Shandong is in great chaos, and it is reasonable for these people to find a safe place to avoid the chaos after hearing the bad news outside.Although Zhang Pucheng only said in that letter that he wanted to send his family and belongings to Zhifu Island, how could Chen Yixin fail to understand his pettiness, so he simply fulfilled them.Although Zhifu Island is small in size, it will not be too big to accommodate these three families.

However, if the public knows that these officials and lords have sneaked away, there will inevitably be some bad rumors, so Chen Yixin specially told Ma Cai to arrange for the three people to move when they are quiet, so as not to make a big noise caused panic among the people.

Ma Cai complied comprehensibly, and was about to leave when Chen Yixin stopped him again: "The county seat has implemented control, you can go in, but they can't come out, and even if they come out, they won't be able to get on the island. I will write a warrant to You, when the time comes, take them out of the city and onto the island with a warrant."

Ma Cai also thought about it for the same reason. Usually, other places in Fushan County except Zhifu Island are free to walk around, but now that military control is implemented, even if he is Chen Yixin's brother-in-law, he still can't rely on his face as a As for the proof of passage, Chen Yixin's warrant is required to handle the matter.

After Ma Cai got the warrant, he also sent a cronies into the city to go to the county government to inform Han Qin of the progress here, and asked them to go home early to pack their soft luggage and arrange to leave the city tonight. There will be a carriage at that time There is no need for them to prepare chariots and horses when they arrive at home.

"If you want to say that the young master of the Ma family is reliable in handling things, he got things done so quickly!" Han Qin immediately went to announce the good news to Zhang Pucheng and Huang Qu after receiving the news.

Zhang and Huang were also very happy. They originally thought that it might take two or three days before they heard back, but they didn't expect this horse to be so efficient. After sending the letter in the morning, there was a reply in the afternoon, and it could be done in the evening. It's time to do business, there is really no time delay.

"It shouldn't be too late, let's go home and pack our bags!" Since we can leave tonight, Zhang Pucheng doesn't have the mood to drink tea anymore. There are so many things at home that need to be packed and taken away, so we must hurry up.

The other two also had the same thoughts, so they split up and went home to pack their things.

When Ma Cai sent the letter, he also specifically told them not to make a public announcement. The three of them naturally understood, and when they returned home, they closed the door and closed the house, declined visitors, and told the family to pack up their belongings quickly.They originally had their own private carriages, but two days ago Haihan announced that all the carriages and horses in the county would be confiscated, and they were not spared, and all of them were confiscated by the Haihan army.Fortunately, the horses were considerate and arranged transportation for them, otherwise they would not be able to take a few things with them if they were to be carried by humans.

It's just that they don't know how much the carriage arranged by Ma Cai can carry. In order to avoid losses, they try to pack up all the household items and put them in the yard. , and then consider giving up some bulky, bulky and worthless things.

Among them, Zhang Pucheng, the county magistrate, thought the most clearly. He was already tired of the life of this famous county magistrate, and he had long thought of abandoning his official position and joining Haihan. The scope of control will further reduce the need for the existence of the Fushan County Government, and Haihan may not be willing to spend money to support these "idle people" like them.Rather than being kicked away by Haihan at that time, it is better to take the initiative and strive for better conditions.

If the situation continues to develop in this direction, then this trip may not return to the county town to continue to be the clay sculpture Bodhisattva. Zhang Pucheng took all the belongings buried in the ground, hidden on the beams and stuffed at the bottom of the rice vat in the residence. Come out, ready to leave completely.

Of course, it is also possible that the situation is far less serious than what the outside world advertised. After a while, the turmoil subsides, and everyone has to go back to each other and continue to accompany the Haihan people to perform this Taiping drama.Therefore, Zhang Pucheng did not explain his plan to his family, and prepared to adapt to the situation after he arrived at Zhifu Island.

The three of them had been working in Fushan County for several years, and they had indeed accumulated a lot of property. It was not an easy task to tidy up all of them and prepare to transport them away in one day.When Macai came into the city to pick them up at night with chariots and horses, the three families had not yet confiscated them.In desperation, Ma Cai could only give them another half an hour to load the items they were taking away as soon as possible.

The family property of the headhunter Han Qin was not as large as the other two. He was the first to clean up the family. He even had time to find Ma Cai and ask him how he planned to explain the whereabouts of the three of them to the outside world.Even if the presence of the county government is extremely low nowadays, the sudden collective disappearance of civil and military officials and security officers in the county will definitely attract the attention of interested people.

Ma Cai replied angrily: "How can I explain it? I can only let the wind out, saying that you, Han Butou, followed Mr. Huang to Dengzhou to reinforce the city defense. As for Mr. Zhang, I will trouble him to get seriously ill. I will see you tomorrow." I will arrange for someone to stay at the house of the three of you first, lest the family lose all anger and cause suspicion."

Han Qin clasped his hands and praised: "Young Master Ma is still thoughtful! Let Han repay this kindness in the future!"

Ma Cai's tone was very impatient, but Han Qin didn't dare to argue with him. Today's young master Ma is not only a local gentry and wealthy family, but also an identity that cannot be ignored is the brother-in-law of General Haihan.Right now, if they want to escape the war on Zhifu Island, they have to rely on Ma Cai for help.What's more, Ma Cai arranged the ins and outs of the matter extremely meticulously. Even if Ma Cai's attitude was not so comfortable, Han Qin was still grateful.

In the middle of the night, when the other two families finally finished packing up, Ma Cai let the three families get into the covered carriage, then left the city from the north gate of the county seat, and headed north along the newly built official road to Zhifu Island. .

Looking out from the gap in the hood, Zhang Pucheng could still see the lights on the east coast.He knew that it was the port area of ​​Zhifu Port, where there was no such thing as a night curfew, at least before the announcement of military control this time, the nights in the port area had always been very lively.But this time Shandong has such a big event, how much Zhifu Port will be affected in the future, and whether it can restore the scene of heavy traffic, it is difficult for Zhang Pucheng to have a definite answer at the moment.

Zhang Pucheng looked away from the outside of the car, wanting to see the expressions of the two companions at this time, but there were no lights in the car, and the moonlight outside was covered by the hood, so he couldn't see anything.

For the convenience of command, Ma Cai also took the same carriage with the three of them, but he was obviously not interested in chatting with the three of them on the way, and he hadn't said a word since he got in the carriage and set off.The three of them didn't know whether he was putting on airs or asking for silence during the trip, so they could only keep silent with Ma Cai.

About one mile away from Zhifu Island, we arrived at the checkpoint for entering Zhifu Island.When the Haihan Fleet first occupied Zhifu Island, it built a large number of fortifications on the narrow sandbar connecting the mainland and Zhifu Island, with a depth of tens of feet.A few years later, those temporary fortifications have been rebuilt into stronger semi-permanent fortifications, leaving only a road with a width of more than two feet in the middle as a land passage to enter and exit the island.

Their convoy was stopped at the checkpoint, Ma Cai got out of the car, took out Chen Yixin's warrant to go through the formalities, and was soon released.

Ma Cai returned to the car, knowing that the three of them were waiting for him to bring back the results, and immediately said: "From now on, it is the Zhifu Island base, and the front is an important military area. The three adults must not poke their heads into the car." Look outside to avoid misunderstanding."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief when they heard his warning.This time when they left the county, their destination was Zhifu Island where the Haihan garrison was stationed, but before they actually set foot on the island, they were not sure whether they could get the protection of the Haihan people.And Ma Cai's warning was just to give them a reassurance.

In fact, Zhang Pucheng has been invited to set foot on Zhifu Island more than once. When he was discussing with Haihan how the two sides could coexist peacefully in Fushan County, it was Chen Yixin who invited him to the island for a meeting.But at one time and another, at that time he represented Daming officials, but at this time he came here as a refugee seeking asylum. He could only obey the arrangement and sit in the carriage obediently, not daring to make prying movements.

After passing that checkpoint, the convoy stopped again after traveling about two miles.Ma Cai asked them to wait in the car, and got out of the car to go through the handover procedures.

(End of this chapter)