1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3839

Qin Jian was not clear about Shi Chengwu's specific plans, but from the information he had come across in recent days, he could roughly tell that Shi Chengwu was implementing some measures against Jiujiang.

Before leaving Yanziji, Shi Chengwu gave Qin Jian another task: to provide the necessary living supplies for the steamship.

Shi Chengwu planned to have the ship temporarily stationed at Yanziji Wharf, specifically responsible for delivering important mail between Nanjing and Jiujiang. In order to be able to deploy at any time, logistical support became particularly important.

Originally, the supply of materials to friendly troops from other places during their stay in Nanjing should have been the responsibility of the local garrison's logistics department. However, Shi Chengwu may have had other considerations and did not want the local garrison to be involved at this stage, so he handed the task over to Qin Jian.

Qin Jian was completely unprepared for this and was flattered, so he quickly agreed. Fortunately, there were only a dozen or so crew members on the steamship, so ensuring their food, clothing, lodging, and transportation during their stay in Nanjing would be covered by the military, which wasn't too difficult for Qin Jian.

After finishing his business at the dock, Qin Jian immediately arranged for a carriage to enter Nanjing, found his brother-in-law Qu Deren, and explained the current situation to him.

Qu Deren was also somewhat surprised after hearing this: "Judging from General Shi's words, is he really going to take action against Jiujiang?"

Qin Jian said, "Taking action doesn't necessarily mean resorting to force. I think General Shi has other plans."

Qu Deren asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Qin Jian explained, “There haven’t been many naval warships coming and going at Yanziji Wharf recently, so it doesn’t seem like they’re preparing for a large-scale military operation. I guess the letter that General Shi intercepted is related to a high-ranking official in Jiujiang… most likely the backer of Lu Faxing, the prefect of Jiujiang.”

Qu Deren suddenly realized, "So General Shi probably intends to target this prefect. Once he takes him down, Jiujiang Prefecture will naturally fall without a fight."

Qin Jian said, "Since the higher-ups are aiming for victory without a fight, don't we also have a chance to gain some benefits from this?"

Qu Deren stroked his beard and pondered, "Old Qin, the benefits here can be big or small, it all depends on how you want to make money."

Qin Jian smiled and said, "Old Qu, tell me your thoughts."

Qu Deren said, "On a smaller scale, we can stockpile some grain, oil, cloth, medicine and other daily necessities in Nanjing, or even just prepare some transportation capacity in advance. When the situation in Jiujiang is turbulent, we can take advantage of it to transport them there and make a fortune."

"On a larger scale, with the change of regime in Jiujiang, some people will definitely hear the news in advance and leave Jiujiang to escape. Of all the places in the world, the safest place to go is Haihan. If we can take in and settle some of the powerful and influential people of the Ming Dynasty, the reward should be quite considerable."

"As long as you don't go too far with reselling supplies, the higher-ups will mostly turn a blind eye, and you can basically make money off it. But when it comes to picking people up from Jiujiang, we need to be careful about who we can and cannot pick them up. If we don't know how to handle things properly, we might run into trouble. We have to be extra careful."

Qin Jian said, "Old Qu, you've thought this through so clearly, you must have been pondering this matter for a while now, right?" Qu Deren chuckled and said, "It's only a matter of time before Haihan uses Nanjing as a bridgehead to launch another invasion of the Ming Dynasty. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been thinking about it in secret. Can you honestly say you haven't considered it?"

Qin Jian smiled knowingly, which was taken as an admission of Qu Deren's words.

During the Haihan's campaign against the Ming Dynasty, they were all experienced firsthand what kind of situations would occur in the local areas, having served on both sides.

When Haihan attacked Yingtianfu, they were still under the command of the Ming Dynasty and witnessed countless nobles and dignitaries fleeing from Nanjing. Some of them retreated to the rear of the Ming Dynasty, while others chose to directly surrender to Haihan.

As far as they knew, many of those who fled to the rear of the Ming Dynasty met a tragic end. Not only were all their properties in Nanjing confiscated by Haihan, but the gold, silver and valuables they took with them were also quickly exhausted in order to survive.

These powerful and wealthy individuals who have left their hometowns, except for a few with extremely strong backgrounds, inevitably become easy prey in the eyes of others when they arrive in unfamiliar environments. If they are lucky, they can exchange their personal belongings for safety; if they are unlucky, it is common for them to suffer the destruction of their families and even death.

Those who fled to Haihan generally fared much better. Their property in Yingtian Prefecture was not confiscated; on the contrary, they were able to reclaim it from the Haihan government after the war by presenting their land deeds and house deeds.

Some people quickly discovered that the standard of living in Zhejiang was much better than in Yingtian Prefecture, so they simply settled down in the Haihan-controlled area.

After Haihan occupied Yingtian Prefecture, the same scenario repeated itself in Liuhe and Jiangpu counties on the north bank of the Yangtze River a couple of years later. Qin Jian and Qu Deren, now in Haihan's camp, saw the changes more clearly and understood the importance of making the right choices during such a period of dynastic change.

Whether Jiujiang Prefecture will be occupied by Haihan through war or peaceful means is not the point. The key is that Jiujiang will be annexed by Haihan sooner or later, and wise people will not wait until the situation is dire before making a choice.

Qu Deren's idea of ​​"making a big splash" was aimed at those clever people who planned to flee to Haihan for refuge before the change of government in Jiujiang.

Whether these people wanted to settle down in Haihan or seek contact with Haihan's high-ranking officials, they all had an objective need to take shortcuts. Qu Deren and Qin Jian, as local bigwigs in Yingtian Prefecture, could provide such services—of course, the corresponding fees would certainly not be small.

If handled well, one can amass enormous wealth in a short period, far exceeding the profits of hoarding goods and acting as a middleman.

Of course, risks also exist. As Qu Deren said earlier, it is extremely important to identify the target and to maintain a proper balance. Once a mistake is made, one may be implicated. Naturalized officials like them, who have no roots in Haihan, do not have any irreplaceable attributes, and their superiors will have very limited tolerance for them.

However, these two had long harbored this idea, and naturally they wouldn't give up such a good opportunity because of some unknown risks.

Moreover, Qin Jian now has an excellent opportunity to intervene. Shi Chengwu asked him to meet with the people from Lufaxing to find out the attitude of their backers. Qin Jian can take this opportunity to gather the information he needs and begin to look for and contact potential targets.

After Qin Jian expressed his thoughts, Qu Deren immediately agreed. The resources he could mobilize at the police station could both facilitate Qin Jian's goals and deliberately create obstacles, adjusting his approach according to the changing situation.