1627 Rise of the South China Sea

The size of the welcome team organized by the East China Sea Region this time is really not small, and it has exceeded the time when the Executive Committee and his party visited Hong Kong before.

Almost all the state capitals under the jurisdiction of the East China Sea Region, as well as various agencies under the East China Sea Management Committee, have sent representatives, plus local gentry, retired officials, and foreign envoys, etc., there are as many as three to four hundred people.

Moreover, in addition to participating in the welcome event at the port, these people will also attend the reception banquet held for the Executive Committee and his party. Maybe they will have the opportunity to get close to the senior officials of the Executive Committee, and the treatment is better than those in Hong Kong. Much better for people who just show up at the pier and get it done.

The location of the reception banquet was not chosen in the restaurants and restaurants on the island, but in the canteen of the Dinghai Port Naval Base.In addition to the large enough space in this place, there may also be security considerations. After all, it is a military base, and it is easy to completely prevent unrelated people from entering the banquet.

The cafeteria has been cleaned up a few days in advance, the original tables and chairs have been replaced, and some decorations have been added to make it a banquet hall.Shi Diwen set up 48 banquet tables here, covering the entire hall to the brim.

Banquets with so many local figures present are rare in the history of Donghai Region. It is said that even when Shi Diwen held a birthday banquet for himself, he never had such a grand occasion.

When Maliko entertained the executive committee in Hong Kong, he basically did not arrange for outsiders to be present, but Shi Diwen was just the opposite here. He seemed to be afraid that there would not be enough people and the scene would not be lively enough, so he arranged hundreds of people to accompany him.

Shi Diwen's reason for making such a fuss was, of course, not to take the opportunity to collect gifts to make money, nor was he intending to introduce the people present to the executive committee one by one.

The real purpose, even if Shi Diwen didn't say it himself, everyone in the executive committee knew it well.

In addition to his identity as the landlord of the Donghai Region Governor, Shi Diwen also has a special identity, that is, he is one of the nine members of the new executive committee.

Although Shi Diwen had been notified of this news by telegram a few days ago, the official letter of appointment was brought here by the executive committee in person, ready to be issued to Shi Diwen in person.

For such a big event, Shi Diwen naturally tried to gather all levels of officials and civil representatives in the jurisdiction to witness together.And for these people, it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see their immediate superiors and parents enter the power center of the empire.

If he could fall into the eyes of some important person on such an occasion, he might be able to make a fortune.

Tao Donglai has presided over the Executive Committee for 30 years. Of course, he knows the tricks and is willing to cooperate with the new members of the Executive Committee on such occasions to create a sense of solemn ceremony.

So when Shi Diwen invited him to speak on behalf of the executive committee before the meeting, Tao Donglai did not refuse.

Seeing Tao Donglai getting up to speak, everyone fell silent.Those who sat far away pricked up their ears, lest they miss a sentence.

Tao Donglai said: "About the purpose of the Executive Committee's visit to Donghai Region this time, I think everyone here should have learned more or less through various channels. In order to avoid deviations in everyone's understanding, I will use the Today is an opportunity to briefly talk about it.”

"First of all, of course, it is about Master Shi Diwen's job change. Master Shi has taken root in the East China Sea these years, devoted himself to the country, and made great achievements. In recent years, he has undertaken the important task of building a new capital."

"I believe that everyone sees Master Shi's hard work and remembers it in his heart. The prosperity of Donghai Region today is inseparable from his contribution in the past 20 years! Donghai Region needs someone like him. Consul, Haihan also needs a pillar of talent like him!"

"That's why Mr. Shi is expected by everyone, and he has entered the new executive committee. From now on, he will not only be the governor of the East China Sea Region, but also one of the highest officials of our Haihan Kingdom!"

The two brothers Shi Chengwu and Shi Chengxin at the next table saw the timing and immediately took the lead in applauding.

If this kind of thing is done by others, it is difficult to grasp the timing, and it is easy to appear flattering, but it seems reasonable for the two brothers to take the lead—my father finally took this last step and became one of the nine people in charge of the empire. What could be more celebrated in the world than this?

The Shi family brothers took the lead, and the others immediately followed after seeing this, and the banquet hall burst into applause.

Shi Diwen stood up in a timely manner, shook hands with Tao Donglai, and then raised his hand in all directions.After the applause stopped, he sat back to his original seat and asked Tao Donglai to continue his speech.

At this time, not everyone's attention was on Tao Donglai's side. For some entourages with special missions, there were more important things at this time.

Gong Shiqi had no interest in attending the banquet, and the person he was going to meet now was just as unsuitable to appear in public as he was.

"Can you find a quieter place to meet next time?"

This wasn't Gong Shiqi's fault, it was because the place was too noisy.This is the firewood room next to the kitchen in the cafeteria. There are sounds of chopping meat in the kitchen, washing pots, and chopping firewood in the yard. All kinds of noises come and go without stopping for a moment.

The other party responded with a smile: "There is no way. My duty is to be there whenever I want, and I can't be too far away from Mr. Shi. It's inconvenient for outsiders to see me when I meet you, so I can only make do with it here."

The person standing opposite Gong Shiqi was Ji Yuanqing, the person in charge of the Hangzhou area of ​​the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing are old acquaintances. As early as 20 years ago, they cooperated in the secret operation against the Yangzhou salt merchants, and formed a life-threatening friendship.

Although the two are in different yamen, the nature of their work is the same. They are both field staff who specialize in dirty and tiring work, so there are quite a lot of common topics to communicate with.

But today Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing met here secretly, not to reminisce, but to discuss business matters.

One of the reasons why Gong Shiqi went north with the Executive Committee was that the Ministry of Security had intercepted a batch of secret letters in the north some time ago. The clues showed that someone seemed to want to carry out an assassination while the Executive Committee was inspecting Hangzhou, so He Xi sent him to Hangzhou is investigating the matter.

The military is responsible for the security of these important tasks of the Executive Committee, so this matter has also been notified to the military.Gong Shiqi's investigation after arriving in Hangzhou required the cooperation of the military, so the first thing he did when he arrived in Zhoushan was to meet with the person in charge of the Military Intelligence Bureau to communicate with him about the action arrangements.

As the main intelligence department of Haihan, the Military Intelligence Bureau may also have some relevant information in its hands. With the friendship between Gong Shiqi and Ji Yuanqing, it should not be difficult for the other party to reveal one or two things.