1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3932

Chen Pingliao's trip to Hangzhou was ostensibly to return to Beijing for a work report. He would then report to the Ministry of National Defense to submit his work report, as well as the Northern Region's fiscal budget and military plan for the following year, so that the latter could approve them during the annual review by the Executive Committee, which begins in October each year.

In addition, during his stay in Hangzhou, Chen Pingliao will also attend a senior military officer training course, which will last for about half a month. This was an arrangement made in advance by his father, Chen Yixin.

This training course, reportedly organized by the Ministry of National Defense, is for young officers of colonel rank or above, and focuses on new equipment and tactics. Only after completing the training will their units have the opportunity to test or deploy the latest weapons and equipment.

Chen Yixin has always paid close attention to the development of domestic military technology. Although he could not attend in person, the Northern Region certainly could not be absent from such training courses. Sending his eldest son, Chen Pingliao, to Hangzhou for training was also a way of showing the outside world the importance he attached to this matter.

Chen Yixin is based in the north most of the year and doesn't come to Hangzhou very often, maybe once every three to five years, and even when he does come, he doesn't stay for long. But he still spent money to buy a fully equipped house on the shore of West Lake with a direct view of the lake as his place to stay when he returns to Beijing.

The Northern Region's office in Hangzhou is not located here. If an ordinary official were to come to Hangzhou on official business, they would naturally stay at the office. However, Chen Pingliao's status is different; when he comes to Hangzhou, his first choice is definitely to stay at his own private residence.

Normally, only the steward Ma Hong and seven or eight servants live here. Their main job is to maintain the houses.

Ma Hong was a distant relative of the Ma family in Fushan County, Dengzhou. He was sent by his relatives to serve as a servant to Chen Yixin when he was very young. A few years ago, he was promoted to be a servant in the Jinzhou mansion and then sent to this private residence in Hangzhou as a steward.

Although he was far from his master's side and lost many opportunities to perform, this was, after all, the bustling capital city, and he was not under the supervision of any superiors. The work was easy and comfortable, which was a good way out for Ma Hong.

After receiving the task issued by Chen Pingliao, Ma Hong left the study and hurried to the backyard. He first arranged accommodations for Chen Pingliao's entourage, and then checked and handed over some supplies brought from the north with Chen Pingliao's attendant—mainly gifts prepared in advance for the upcoming activities.

While counting the supplies, Ma Hong checked the visiting card and gift list that Chen Pingliao had just sent him. He thought to himself that the master was going to send out quite a lot of things this time, and it seemed that he was going to handle some important matters in the capital.

Chen Pingliao's trip back to the capital was indeed for social purposes. After all, the Chen family had been stationed in the northern frontier for many years and rarely appeared in court. Since it was a rare opportunity to return to the capital, he naturally wanted to take the time to maintain and manage relationships with all parties involved, and also to learn about recent current affairs and secrets.

In the past, Chen Yixin was responsible for maintaining these relationships with all parties. However, now that Chen Yixin holds a high position and has many responsibilities, it is difficult for him to find time to return to Hangzhou. It is time for Chen Pingliao to gradually take over these responsibilities.

However, Chen Pingliao intended to host a banquet at this private residence not for high-ranking officials, but for some young officials of similar status to himself. To be precise, they were the descendants of founding fathers and second-generation transmigrators.

When Chen Pingliao returned to Beijing last time, he met a group of young officials, including the Shi brothers, and some of them became friends. This time in Hangzhou, he plans to invite these people to a get-together in a private capacity, hoping to build his own network of contacts.

In addition, he had long realized that it was much easier to get information from his peers than to deal with those cunning old men from his uncles and aunts.

As for the extra costs of entertaining guests, they were negligible to Chen Pingliao. It was simply a matter of arranging an extra boat to transport the chefs and some local specialties from the north to Hangzhou all at once.

On the day Chen Pingliao arrived in Hangzhou, his steward Ma Hong, carrying visiting cards and gifts, began visiting the families of those he intended to entertain. However, the actual results were far from satisfactory for Chen Pingliao, as more than half of the people he wanted to invite were not in Hangzhou.

Tao Hongfang is currently serving as the governor in Nanjing. He returns to Hangzhou at most once or twice a year, and it is unlikely that he would make a special trip back for a gathering.

Ning Zijing and Ha Jianyi are currently both in Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, and may also be responsible for the establishment of the Jiangxi Management Committee. They are currently too busy to leave their posts.

Shi Chengwu is the general in charge of this operation in Jiangxi. At this time, he is stationed in Nanchang and cannot return for the time being.

Currently, the only second-generation transmigrators in Hangzhou who are relatively familiar with Chen Pingliao seem to be Shi Chengxin and Bai Letong.

After receiving the invitation, the two readily agreed to attend the banquet. After asking Ma Hong about the invitees, Shi Chengxin offered to invite a few more friends on Chen Pingliao's behalf.

The following afternoon, the invited guests arrived one after another at the Chen residence by West Lake.

In addition to Shi Chengxin and Bai Letong, there were also Liu Tianning, the engineering supervisor of the River Management Division of the Engineering Department, and Tan Tianming, the head of the Xingdao Regional Office in Hangzhou, who were invited by Shi Chengxin.

Liu Tianning's father was Liu Shanxia, ​​the Minister of Engineering, and Tan Tianming was the son of Tan Juren, the Governor of the Sing Tao District. Both of them were prominent figures among the second generation of the time-traveling family.

Chen Pingliao had always wanted to make more friends of similar status in Hangzhou, and Shi Chengxin took the initiative to invite these two people on his behalf, which he naturally accepted gladly.

The circle of second-generation rich kids isn't very large, currently totaling just over a thousand to less than two thousand people. But it's not small either, as it's also divided into different levels, with several smaller circles based on factors like location, social status, and parental relationships.

The achievements of the younger generation, at present, still largely depend on the influence of their parents. For example, Chen Pingliao, Shi Chengxin, and Tan Tianming all had fathers who were high-ranking officials in charge of a large region. Liu Tianning's father would have been the Minister of Works in the Ming Dynasty, which was a very important figure in the court.

These four visitors were all long-term residents of Hangzhou, so they naturally fell into the same circle and had a good personal relationship. This is why Shi Chengxin took the initiative to invite Liu Tianning and Tan Tianming on their behalf.

Chen Pingliao knew these two people, but they had no prior interaction. If it weren't for Shi Chengxin's introduction, he probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet them in such a private setting.

Although the arrival of the two was not in Chen Pingliao's plan, he still welcomed them politely and then secretly instructed his subordinates to prepare two gifts as a first-meeting present.

"Since you've lived in Hangzhou for so long, you probably don't have many opportunities to eat authentic Northern cuisine. I've specially brought some master chefs from Shandong with me this time. Let's see if their dishes suit your tastes."

Chen Pingliao welcomed everyone into the banquet hall and warmly introduced the preparations he had made.