1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3937

Shi Chengxin coughed and said, "The Executive Committee has already made arrangements for the Glorious-class warships, so there's no need for you two to rush. When the time is right, the construction will naturally be rolled out gradually in major shipyards across the country, and you will definitely be involved."

Such a major event involving the interests of multiple parties is beyond Shi Chengxin's ability to intervene, and he cannot even give a specific timeframe. Therefore, he can only give a vague response at the moment, as a way of appeasing the two of them.

Chen Pingliao and Tan Tianming could naturally sense the perfunctory tone in his words, and knowing that they would not get the answer they wanted by continuing to ask, they stopped pursuing the topic.

After the banquet, the guests took their leave one after another. Chen Pingliao returned to his study and carefully recalled the information he had obtained from the earlier conversation, writing it down one by one. Then he drafted another telegram and instructed the accompanying communications soldier to send it back to Jinzhou immediately.

The house was not equipped with a radio station, but an antenna for receiving and sending telegrams was installed on a large tree in the yard during the renovation stage. The tree canopy and branches were used as cover, and this ingenious design could only be discovered by walking under the tree.

Now, by simply connecting to the radio brought by Chen Pingliao, they can quickly make contact with their hometown in the north via radio waves, and Chen Pingliao is also able to receive timely guidance from his father, Chen Yixin.

The following morning, Liu Baizhou, the person in charge of the Northern Region stationed in Hangzhou, rushed over to meet Chen Pingliao after receiving the notification, reported on the recent work, and brought the office's accounts for inspection.

Liu Baizhou is about the same age as Chen Pingliao. He was able to be entrusted with important responsibilities at a young age, taking charge of the affairs of the Northern Region's Hangzhou office. This was mainly due to the fact that he had a good father.

Liu Baizhou's father is Liu Shang, the current administrative head of Jinzhou.

Liu Shang was originally a Ming Dynasty intelligence agent, but after joining Haihan, he has been very successful in recent years. After being transferred from Sanya to Shandong more than 20 years ago, his career has been on a meteoric rise.

A few years ago, before Qian Tiandun led his troops away from the Northern Region, he appointed Liu Shang as the chief official of Jinzhou. This position was already a high-ranking official in the Northern Region, which shows how highly he was regarded.

Liu Baizhou was born shortly after Liu Shang was transferred to Shandong. Since he could remember, his father, Liu Shang, had been constantly promoted and gradually moved closer to the power center of the northern region.

Liu Baizhou was also familiar with Chen Pingliao, who had been a constant companion of Qian Tiandun and Chen Yixin at every important event in the Northern Region over the years.

After Qian Tiandun left the Northern Region, all military and political power was transferred to Chen Yixin. Chen Pingliao was naturally regarded as the successor of the next generation and would most likely become Liu Baizhou's superior at some point in the future.

Chen Pingliao did not inform Liu Baizhou of his itinerary before coming to Hangzhou. It was only last night that he sent the local steward Ma Hong to the office to inform him. Therefore, Liu Baizhou was unclear about the purpose of Chen Pingliao's sudden appearance in Hangzhou. He was not sure whether the other party's summons was a routine matter or had other purposes. In any case, he needed to be careful and not let Chen Pingliao find anything wrong with him.

Chen Pingliao's purpose in coming to Hangzhou was certainly not to specifically check the office's accounts; it was merely a side effect. His summons of Liu Baizhou was primarily to gain another source of information and, incidentally, to verify the veracity of the rumors he had heard at the dinner table the previous day.

Chen Pingliao only glanced at the accounts Liu Baizhou presented before setting them aside. This action made Liu Baizhou relax a little, at least indicating that Chen Pingliao didn't intend to cause trouble for him in this most likely area to find fault.

A portion of the expenses of the Hangzhou office were used for intelligence gathering and networking, the latter of which was certainly inconvenient to record accurately. These expenses were reflected in the accounts, often registered under names like "daily wear and tear" or "entertainment expenses," but without more detailed records. If each item were meticulously examined, Liu Baizhou would likely find it difficult to explain the true destination of all the funds. His concern was that Chen Pingliao, unaware of the situation, would use these vague accounts as leverage.

Fortunately, Chen Pingliao's focus was not on the office's financial situation at all, and he took the initiative to change the subject to another matter: "Have there been any recent developments among the Yangzhou salt merchants?"

Liu Baizhou replied, "I heard that the salt business is about to be taken over by the government and the Donghai Salt Industry Group will be established. This will have a great impact on the salt merchants in Yangzhou. I think the government may compensate them."

Chen Pingliao pressed further, "Then what kind of compensation measures do you think there will be?"

Liu Baizhou said in a deep voice: "I heard that a deputy division commander position has become vacant in the 7th Division. Dai Chengrong, the commander of the 2nd Regiment, has a good chance of taking the position. He is a member of the Dai family in Yangzhou."

Chen Pingliao nodded noncommittally, then continued, "Are there any other measures?"

Liu Baizhou said, "After the establishment of the Donghai Salt Industry Group, the number of salt merchants' children it can absorb should be very limited. Perhaps the government will seek other ways to settle these people."

Chen Pingliao thought to himself that this matched the news he heard yesterday. However, Liu Baizhou probably didn't have access to more specific information. In this light, what Shi Chengxin and the others said seemed to be highly credible.

Based on current information, Chen Pingliao would be happy if the sons of salt merchants were assigned to special operations divisions overseas. However, he was also somewhat worried that this group might be a mix of good and bad, and if the special operations divisions were not adequately prepared, some unexpected problems might arise during the reception and resettlement process.

Chen Pingliao thought for a moment and then asked, "I remember you've been in Hangzhou for more than two years, right?"

Liu Baizhou didn't understand what he meant, but he still nodded and said, "It will be three years in two or three months."

Chen Pingliao said, "Then you should know some of the sons of salt merchants. Arrange a convenient occasion as soon as possible, I would like to meet with them."

Liu Baizhou said, "I have dealt with Dai Chengrong before. How about asking him to take charge of organizing this?"

Chen Pingliao said, "Sure, you might as well tell him that besides him, I would like to meet with people from their side who are interested in developing overseas."

Chen Pingliao did not inquire in detail about how Liu Baizhou met Dai Chengrong or how deep their friendship was. As long as Liu Baizhou could act as a go-between and get things done, those details were not important to him.

He just wanted to first screen the special operations division and persuade those mediocre people who lacked both ability and determination to leave in advance.

As for Dai Chengrong, who is about to become the deputy commander of the 7th Division, Chen Pingliao believes that he should be considered one of the best among the sons of salt merchants. Since they are both high-ranking military officers, it would be a good thing to have the opportunity to get to know each other.