1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3852

These high-ranking officials from the Haihan Kingdom present had all dealt with Yue Shizong to some extent, and they all knew that he was highly loyal to the Ming Dynasty and had never shown any signs of wavering in his stance. Who would have thought that he would be turned against the Ming Dynasty by Shi Diwen so quietly?

Although Shi Diwen spoke of it casually, as if it were as simple as eating and sleeping, everyone knew that turning a high-ranking official like Yue Shizong against his will was by no means easy, and there were probably many details that no one knew about.

However, judging from Shi Diwen's description, Yue Shizong was just a pawn in his plan, which is why he only mentioned him briefly and did not focus on this aspect.

Ning Qi finally calmed down from his shock and, after sorting through the information described by Yan Chujie and Shi Diwen, said, "So the current situation is that the prefects of Ganzhou Prefecture and Jiujiang Prefecture in Jiangxi are already under our command. We can take these two places without bloodshed when the time is right."

Shi Diwen nodded and said, "That's a fair understanding. If the situation is well controlled, we can indeed achieve the handover of power without a major conflict. Moreover, the coordination between these two regions will play a significant role in our subsequent takeover of the entire Jiangxi province."

Ning Qi took a deep breath and said, "You guys really kept it a secret! If I didn't ask, were you planning to wait until it was all over before telling me?"

Shi Diwen said, "This matter is of great importance and the future is difficult to predict. We are also afraid that publicizing it too early will cause uncontrollable consequences."

Shi Diwen did not deny the accusation, which made Ning Qi somewhat angry but helpless.

Due to work commitments, the other civil servants on the executive committee are not currently in Hangzhou, so today's impromptu meeting was actually attended only by him, Tao Donglai, Yan Chujie, and Shi Diwen.

Schneider, Bex, Yuan Qiuye, and others were all out of town on business at the time, Qiao Zhiya was on Hainan Island, and Chen Yixin was stationed in Liaodong. These people were probably just as unaware of the matter as Ning Qi. However, even if they learned of the situation later, by then it would be too late, and they likely wouldn't criticize it.

Yan Chujie and Shi Diwen were clearly in cahoots, and Tao Donglai must have been one of the insiders as well, since his son Tao Hongfang was now in charge in Nanjing, and this plan was certainly related to him.

Faced with three opponents, Ning Qi knew he couldn't refute their methods, and if successful, it would indeed promote and set an example for Haihan's annexation of Ming. The more examples of peaceful transitions there were, the more likely more Ming local officials would choose to follow suit—a principle Ning Qi naturally understood.

However, it's somewhat unreasonable that these individuals failed to promptly inform the Executive Committee about such a significant event. Considering that Tao Donglai and Shi Diwen's sons both hold positions in Nanjing, this was clearly a carefully orchestrated move to protect them from outside involvement and to use the capture of Jiujiang as a means to curry favor and gain rewards.

Left with no other option, Ning Qi could only instruct the Ministry of National Defense to submit a report on the relevant operations as soon as possible, and to promptly inform the Executive Committee of any subsequent developments, as well as to require the Executive Committee to approve any major decisions.

The other three had no objections, and Ning Qi left reluctantly.

"See? I told you Old Ning would be furious when he found out about this. Didn't I tell you?" Yan Chujie shook his head helplessly.

Shi Diwen laughed and said, "But even if they get angry, they can't find anything wrong with it. At most, they can say that our procedures were not perfect, but they can't accuse us of doing something wrong."

Tao Donglai said, "Don't make fun of Lao Ning. It's his duty to point out procedural problems. If everyone on the executive committee just ignores it, then there will be a real problem!" Shi Diwen nodded and said, "What you said makes sense. I think we should arrange some benefits for Lao Ning afterward. It's best if everyone benefits!"

Tao Donglai asked, "What do you mean?"

Shi Diwen said, "When the Nanjing commander was being chosen, Ning Qi had to choose between his eldest son and your Tao Hongfang. In the end, he lost, and Ning Qi has probably held a grudge about it ever since. Now that this tremendous achievement is going to be attributed to Tao Hongfang, how can Ning Qi be happy about that?"

Yan Chujie said, "But Ning Zijing has a proper job now!"

Shi Diwen waved his hand and said, "He's working under his father's nose now. How can that compare to being a local official? If we really want to train him, we need to let him learn how to govern a region first."

Tao Hongfang finally understood: "You mean after the Jiangxi affair is settled, you'll arrange a local official position for the eldest son of the Ning family?"

Shi Diwen nodded and said, "I think Jiujiang is a good place. Although it's not a big city, it's located at a strategic point on the Yangtze River and can also provide support to Nanjing. When the time comes, you can nominate it and do a favor, which will fill the hole we dug before."

These individuals were all key members of the original transmigrated group, and they had worked together in this timeline for thirty years. They already knew each other inside and out, so there was no need to beat around the bush on this matter; they could just speak frankly.

We're all practically on our deathbeds, and we're all thinking about paving the way for our descendants. When faced with a great opportunity, internal competition is inevitable. Fortunately, we're still in an era where you have to fight your way up, and there are plenty of vacant positions in the officialdom, so there's no need to worry about missing one and ruining your life.

Entrusting the management of Jiujiang, which the Tao and Shi families had jointly seized, to Ning Zijing was a great favor to Ning Qi. Even if Ning Qi was somewhat dissatisfied with their secret operation, he should have no reason to complain after accepting this benefit.

In just a few words, the important figures had already finalized some arrangements for the occupation of Jiujiang, clearly regarding it as a sure thing.

As for Ganzhou Prefecture in southern Jiangxi, although the situation was similar to that of Jiujiang, they were not in a hurry to make arrangements. The actions there were being led by the Liangguang Regional Government and the Ministry of Security, and the distribution of benefits should have been arranged long ago. If the Executive Committee rashly intervened and parachuted in local officials, it might provoke dissatisfaction.

After the meeting, the strategy for Jiujiang was finalized, and the next task would mainly rely on the East China Sea region under Shi Diwen's jurisdiction.

Although the handover was planned to be peaceful, Shi Diwen still needed to be fully prepared for war. He had already dispatched more than 3,000 troops, both land and naval, to Nanjing in batches through various means, and planned to send another inland river fleet to Nanjing to assist in the battle under the guise of exercises.

With this, plus the troops that can be mobilized from Nanjing, there will be at least five or six thousand men available for action, which should be enough to quickly complete the occupation after entering Jiujiang.

However, due to the rapid progress of this matter, Shi Diwen's earlier measures, such as expanding the militia force in Nanjing and building a new shipyard, were still underway or even in the planning stage, and most of them were probably not going to be implemented in time.