1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3835

Since Lord Lu of Jiujiang Prefecture is a shrewd and resourceful man, things will be simple. Shi Chengwu believes that as long as there are sufficient benefits to be gained in exchange, Lu Congshan's political stance should also become quite flexible.

Shi Chengwu then drafted a telegram to Hangzhou, which roughly explained the situation of Lu Congshan, the prefect of Jiuzhou, and requested that Hangzhou arrange for Yue Shizong to contact him as soon as possible, preferably to find out Lu Congshan's position, or to arrange a private meeting in the Yangtze River basin between Nanjing and Jiujiang.

Shi Chengwu did not expect to persuade Lu Congshan to switch sides through Yue Shizong. He had dealt with many Ming officials and knew that most of them would not shed tears until they saw the coffin. They were unwilling to give up their official positions in the Ming Dynasty unless they were in dire straits.

Moreover, Lu Congshan had already risen to the rank of prefect of the fourth grade in the Ming Dynasty, and controlled the Yangtze River shipping trade, a treasure trove of business. Such a person would not easily give up his existing power and wealth to join the enemy camp with an uncertain future.

Now that progress had been made, Shi Chengwu had no intention of keeping it a secret. He immediately met with Tao Hongfang and informed him of the information about Lu Congshan.

Tao Hongfang was also quite surprised by the speed at which Shi Chengwu was pushing forward with the plan: "These materials of yours... were they really not prepared in advance? It's only been two days, and you've already dug up the Jiujiang prefect's secrets?"

Shi Chengwu replied with a hint of smugness, "This is all firsthand information that we just got back. The person in charge is Qin Jian from Yanziji Wharf. You should recognize him, right? If you don't trust him, you can call him over and ask him in person."

Tao Hongfang certainly knew Qin Jian. This man was an expert in local civil affairs and shipping, and had performed quite well in the previous work of providing relief to refugees, which had left a deep impression on him.

Tao Hongfang said, "Qin Jian is a fairly reliable person, so there's no need to specifically call him over from Yanziji... So tell me, what are your plans for the next step?"

Shi Chengwu's smile faded, and he said solemnly, "I plan to have Yue Shizong contact this person first. If there's an opportunity, we'll take over and make further contact with him. However, we must act quickly. If this line takes two or three years to cultivate before it's effective, then it's meaningless to us."

Tao Hongfang said, "Can't you even wait two or three years?"

Shi Chengwu said, "In another two or three years, we'll probably only be able to follow behind others and drink the leftovers! It's said that the Ministry of State Security has restarted a secret plan that has been interrupted for a long time, and is going to mobilize a group of spies planted in the Jiangxi officialdom in the early years. But this plan is being promoted by the Liangguang Region. If they get ahead of us, then we won't have anything to do with it."

Although the "Infiltrator Plan," personally led by Security Minister He Xi, is highly classified, he has already submitted the plan to the Executive Committee.

This plan involves a group of scholars supported by Haihan in his early years. These individuals entered officialdom in the Ming Dynasty through the imperial examinations, and some of them served in Jiangxi. Among the undercover agents that the Ministry of Security has already made contact with are even high-ranking officials such as Xiang Chunfu, the prefect of Ganzhou Prefecture in Jiangxi.

It has been over two years since the restart of Project Infernal Affairs, and its specific progress is difficult for outsiders to know. But perhaps one day we will suddenly receive a notification that a prefecture in Jiangxi has voluntarily relinquished its administrative power and merged into Haihan.

Shi Diwen knew that the Security Department's "Infiltrator Plan" was in competition with Shi Chengwu's plans for Jiangxi, and that the Security Department's actions were ahead of Shi Chengwu's, so he privately reminded him of this.

Shi Chengwu, naturally unwilling to fall behind, hoped to make significant progress in Jiangxi as soon as possible, ideally by peacefully capturing one or two prefectures without resorting to force, thus demonstrating his capabilities. After hearing Shi Chengwu's words, Tao Hongfang finally understood why he was so eager to push this matter forward.

After pondering for a moment, Tao Hongfang asked Shi Chengwu, "If that's the case, what kind of assistance do you need from me?"

Shi Chengwu was waiting for these words, and immediately replied, "During this period, I may need to arrange for your subordinates to complete some tasks, or even temporarily call upon manpower. I hope you can provide convenience and avoid those cumbersome procedures."

Tao Hongfang nodded and said, "That's no problem, but you should let me know if you're going to transfer people, so I don't have trouble finding them when I need to do something."

Tao Hongfang had already guessed what kind of people Shi Chengwu would need. Qin Jian was able to gather the intelligence that Shi Chengwu needed in just two or three days. With such useful manpower, Shi Chengwu had no reason to let him go.

Despite numerous unmet external conditions, the two young officials decided to expedite the implementation of subsequent measures. Knowing they had the support of the Executive Committee, they were not concerned about the consequences of the plan's failure.

Yue Shizong was somewhat surprised that Hai Han ultimately chose Lu Congshan, the prefect of Jiujiang, as his target. He had thought that Hai Han would not hesitate to make his mentor, Zhao Mingyu, the left provincial governor of Jiangxi, his first choice. After all, Zhao Mingyu held a high position and wielded great power, and if successful, he could even shake up the entire Jiangxi officialdom.

But Hai Han clearly had other plans, or perhaps more practical goals. After all, a second-rank official like the Provincial Governor was not an easy target to win over. On the other hand, there were quite a few precedents of officials at the Prefect level defecting to Hai Han, making them obviously easier to manipulate.

Although Yue Shizong and Lu Congshan, the prefect of Jiujiang, were classmates in the Hanlin Academy, their personal relationship was not particularly close. Including Lu in the list of contacts and handing it over to Hai Han was just a way for Yue Shizong to add more people to the list to prove his usefulness and thus exchange it for better treatment from Hai Han.

But now that Haihan has chosen Lu Congshan as his target and has asked him to contact him as soon as possible through letters and to probe his political stance, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Yue Shizong carefully recalled his days studying at the Hanlin Academy many years ago and his interactions with Lu Congshan. He pondered how to build a relationship with Lu while also recalling Lu Congshan's style of doing things.

After much deliberation, Yue Shizong felt that his personal relationship with the other party was still too shallow, so he finally found an official reason, saying that the embassy was currently compiling statistics on trade between various regions and Haihan, and needed Jiujiang Prefecture to provide relevant information.

Yue Shizong was unaware that Nanjing was also investigating Jiujiang's trade situation, but he had some knowledge of the shipping and trade of the prefectures along the Yangtze River, and this idea coincided with Shi Chengwu's.

Of course, this information is quite sensitive, and even if Yue Shizong uses official business as an excuse, Lu Congshan may not cooperate. But Yue Shizong's plan is to establish official correspondence first, regardless of the other party's attitude, so that he can then cultivate a relationship with him and discuss other topics.

(End of this chapter)