1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 559 The situation is stronger than people

At any rate, Li Jin is currently the highest-ranking military general in Danzhou. However, when he first arrived in the field, the local military officer who colluded with the Haihan people gave him a slap in the face, which really pissed him off.Seeing that his face was flushed red, and he looked like he was about to explode, Yan Mingjun quickly grabbed his arm, and gently persuaded him: "Brother Li, if you argue with them at this time, you will only suffer yourself, and you have to think long-term." what!"

Li Jin didn't know this truth, several of the soldiers around him were injured and sent away, and he didn't have any military power in his hands, so how could he single-handedly make trouble in Danzhou?Now even Danzhou has not figured out what is going on, and there is really nothing to rely on when the quarrel starts. Just now, an impulse has brought everyone around him into it. Li Jin also knows that if the quarrel continues, he will still be the one who will suffer.

Depressed and depressed, this Danzhou City still had to go, and the two got into the carriage arranged by Zhang Xin anxiously, and went to Danzhou City [-] miles away.On the way, both of them noticed that the official road from Danzhou Bay to Danzhou City was undergoing large-scale renovation.There are crowds of people beside the original loess official road, and the sound of chiseling stones and chants can be heard endlessly. Judging from the construction situation, it seems that the original official road is being further widened.And this widening project does not seem to be as simple as tinkering, it directly extends the original road to the side by more than double.

Yan Mingjun asked the driver: "Danzhou was hit by bandits a few months ago. I heard that the whole city was looted by pirates. Where did the money come from for the renovation of the official roads?"

The coachman replied: "Of course this is the favor of the chiefs of Haihan. Could it be possible to collect it from the common people?"

"Such a large project must cost a lot!" Yan Mingjun walked this way, and noticed that there were probably no less than a thousand laborers on various construction sites along the way, and the daily expenses of food and drink for so many people were not enough. Small amount.It can also be seen how much Haihan invested in Danzhou.

The coachman said: "The chiefs of Haihan have always been willing to advocate building bridges and paving roads. Wherever they go, they will build roads...Here, my lord, look at the slogans on the side of the road ahead!"

Yan Mingjun followed his horsewhip to look forward, and saw the slogan "If you want to get rich, build roads first" written in white paint on the outer wall of a house with earthen walls beside the road. It is also very conspicuous from afar.

The coachman continued: "The chiefs said that only when the road is open can the goods be conveniently transferred, and the money will only be valuable if it is circulated. Silver is placed in the cellar, which is no different from stones. The same is true for goods. Find a way to get them Only when the goods are sold where there is demand can they make money, the faster they are shipped, the faster they can make money..."

Although what the coachman said was vulgar, there was indeed some truth.Yan Mingjun is not a nerdy official who doesn't understand practical things. He also dealt with Haihan's caravan when he was in Luoding Prefecture. He has heard of Haihan's business philosophy before.It's just that Luoding Prefecture is located in the inland of Guangdong, and Haihan doesn't seem to have any interest in investing too much money in the local area to build bridges and pave roads.Of course, comparing the situation in Danzhou, it is very likely that the standard for Haihan people to measure whether to build infrastructure in the local area is the degree of control they have over this place.

Yan Mingjun thought for a while and asked again: "The products in Danzhou are not rich, and the Haihan people are so busy building and renovating the official roads, are they afraid that there will not be much business to do and the capital will not be recovered?"

The coachman smiled and said, "My lord, you are new here, and you don't know how the chiefs manage the place. When the chiefs were building roads in Qiongzhou, the government thought it was a loss-making business, but the adults couldn't figure it out. How many benefits will be gained after these roads are built. The villain does not have such a good brain as the chiefs, and he does not know how to recover the capital in the future, but if the road construction will lose money, the villain will definitely not believe it. "

After hearing this, Yan Mingjun felt that the taste was a bit wrong, and after careful consideration, he realized that the coachman was secretly mocking himself for thinking that he was smarter than the Haihan people, and he was a little dumbfounded at the moment.However, he also knew that the Haihan people were really good at management. Otherwise, how could they have changed from an overseas businessman who had just arrived three years ago to become the most wealthy and powerful emerging force in the southeast of Ming Dynasty.Judging from what we have seen so far, most of the places in Qiongzhou Island are already in the hands of Haihan people. Their management capabilities must be far superior to those of the local government. It is really unnecessary to worry about Haihan. .

Of course, Yan Mingjun would not care about the coachman like this. Since it was the carriage arranged by Haihan, the driver of the carriage must also be a person who worked for Haihan, and he might have been naturalized by the Haihan people , it's not surprising that his attitude will be biased towards Haihan's side.But seeing that the coachman seemed to have nothing to hide, Yan Mingjun tried to get a little more out of him.

"I heard that Danzhou City was attacked by pirates and suffered serious damage. The Haihan people arranged so many laborers to build roads outside the city. How about the situation in the city?" Yan Mingjun said calmly. Continue to inquire.

The coachman replied: "That is to say, a part of the wall outside the yamen was bombarded by the pirate artillery, and the rest is not serious. After the militia came, they simply tore down that part of the wall. Now it is Danzhou. The office of the committee. There are not many places in the city that need to break ground. Most of the local laborers are concentrated on the Baimajing Wharf and the construction site of this official road. After this is completed, it will probably continue to be renovated from Danzhou to The official roads in Lingao and Chengmai counties, and another official road leading from Danzhou Bay to Changhua, are said to be ready to break ground.”

Yan Ming Junyue was even more frightened when he heard this. Obviously, the Haihan people had no intention of defending the city. They did not strengthen the construction of the city defenses after taking control of Danzhou. Instead, they continued to build roads that radiated the surrounding areas. Understand.But there is one thing he has already thought about. Since the Haihan people have such a layout in Danzhou, the measures taken in other places on Qiongzhou Island should be similar to here.If the Haihan people try to build a road network throughout the island, it is obvious that they want to manage the entire Qiongzhou Island as their own backyard.

Although Yan Mingjun's guess was a bit off, it was not far from the truth.In the mid-to-long-term plan of the executive committee, Hainan Island not only needs to build a road network around the island, but also realizes the connection of roads between county towns, state cities, and prefectural cities.At the same time, the construction of the cable telegraph network was carried out almost simultaneously with the progress of the road works.The line from Yacheng to Tielu Port in the Qiongnan area has now realized wired telegraph communication, and is gradually advancing northward from the east and west coastlines.In addition, the inspection of the railway network around the island has also been included in the schedule of the Ministry of Construction.

About an hour later, the convoy finally arrived outside Danzhou City.From the car window, Yan Mingjun saw that the soldiers on duty inside and outside the city gate were not the Ming army, but the Haihan Militia in gray uniforms. Obviously, the city defense of Danzhou City was still controlled by the Haihan Militia so far.It's no wonder that the local guard Qian Zong actually acts as a town house lion on the wharf of Danzhou Bay instead of guarding the city defense - if he stays in Danzhou City, he probably won't have a place.

Just like on the pier, there were no welcome crowds or any ceremony when entering the city. After a brief inspection by the guards at the city gate, the convoy drove directly into the city.Of course, after the previous encounters in Fucheng and Baimajing Wharf, Yan Mingjun no longer feels lost in his heart.

After the convoy stopped, Yan Mingjun got out of the car and saw a building in the shape of a yamen, but the gate was a bit stingy, and it didn't look like a state yamen.What's more, the coachman on the road said that when the pirates attacked the city, they used artillery to blow down the gate and the wall of the state government office, and they have not been repaired so far, and this building does not seem to have suffered the baptism of war.

After hesitating, Zhang Xin came over and explained to him: "The original prefectural office is now the office of the Danzhou Management Committee. Because there is no time for repairs there, the conditions are poor, so I arranged for Mr. Yan to live here first, and I will fix it later. We will move to another place. This was originally the place of Dongchang, and it can also be regarded as the imperial government’s yamen, and the courtyard of the third entrance, you can live in the back with peace of mind, that is, the place is a little smaller, Lord Yan, don’t mind.”

What can Yan Mingjun do?Could it be that this facade is too small and unsatisfactory, so just walk away?Of course, I can only agree to it and let the servants carry the luggage inside.At least the Haihan people arranged a yard for them. If they don't accept it, where should they find another suitable place in this situation?All he can do is face the reality and accept Haihan's arrangement first. As for future plans, he can only take one step at a time.

At this time, Yan Mingjun also had a faint regret, why did he rush to grab the position of the alternate magistrate in the first place.Although the place in Luoding Prefecture can't make any political achievements, and there are few opportunities for promotion, at least it is safe and sound.He worked hard and spent a lot of money to come to Danzhou, but it is clear that the situation here is far from what he expected at the beginning. Any ambitious plans now seem to be unrealistic and utopian.

After Li Jin followed into the yard and walked around, he asked impatiently: "Director Zhang, where is the official's residence?"

"It's very close, just across the street." Zhang Xin explained as he led the way out: "The opposite yard also has three entrances, and its size is about the same as this side. It is suitable for both office and living. "

Li Jin had already paid attention to the surrounding environment before entering the courtyard here, and asked after hearing the words: "The courtyard opposite was also a yamen before?"

"That's right, it used to be Jinyiwei's yamen." Zhang Xin said to Li Jin with a smile: "After all, Jinyiwei and Dongchang have a close relationship, so their yamen in Danzhou is across the street, you know."

Of course, Jinyiwei and Dongchang are not like-minded partners. Their colleagues are enemies. Many functions of these two yamen are close or overlap, and most of the time they are competitors with conflicts of interest. Without exception.The gates of the offices of these two enemy yamens faced the gates, and there was a bit of rivalry.However, during the occupation of the pirate army, these two yamen were logically and thoroughly cleaned up. The people who used to work in these two yamen, and those who survived were basically digging coal in Annan's mine.

"Then these two yamen?" Yan Mingjun asked tentatively.

"If the Guangdong government wants to send someone over to make up for it, then we can arrange another place at that time, and the two adults can live in peace. In addition, someone will come to handle the formalities with you tomorrow for the handover of official duties, so don't be too impatient." Zhang Xin clasped his fists and said, "I still have things to do, I will invite someone to invite you two to the banquet later, see you later!"

Li Jin's lonely family doesn't have much luggage, but his four soldiers were beaten to the hospital, and now there is no one to help him carry his luggage, so Yan Mingjun asked his servants to get out of the car with Li Jin's luggage. Enter the house.

Although the three-entry yard is small in size, although the sparrow is small and well-equipped, its functions are quite complete.The first entrance is the courtroom for handling official affairs, and the second entrance is the study room and warehouse for storing various materials.The third entrance is where people live.As for the place where the criminals are detained and executed, it is not here, but in the Danzhou Prison outside the east gate of the city, which is purely an office location.The structure of the yard arranged for Li Jin is basically the same. It can be said that in terms of living, Hai Han did not intentionally trip them up and treat them badly.

However, Li Jin still felt a little uncomfortable: "Brother Yan, the yamen that we should be in town has been taken over by some management committee of the Haihan people, and the master is squeezed into this nonsensical place." It's really annoying to come here!"

"The situation is better than people!" Yan Mingjun suddenly thought of a sentence he heard Liu Qian say before he set off in Guangzhou.

Although they are orthodox court officials, they are officials who came to Qiongzhou Island on behalf of the Ming Dynasty to manage this place, but their aura and identities are of no use in this place.The Haihan people did give them some respect and basic preferential treatment, but they didn't seem to regard them as their immediate superiors, but rather two clay bodhisattvas who came here to enjoy incense.Although both of them are resentful and unhappy about this, they are indeed powerless to change the status quo.Now, apart from the few servants brought by Yan Mingjun, they don't even have anyone in the local area who can command them.Yan Mingjun really can't imagine how the Haihan people will hand over work to them tomorrow.

"Let's pack up our things and settle down first. We'll meet the Haihan people in the evening, and then we'll find out what they're saying." Yan Mingjun didn't have any better way to deal with it at this time. The group of them came from Guangzhou and had almost no contact with them. People outside Haihan's circle.Now we can only hope that we will meet some local gentry who are interested in Daming at the reception banquet tonight, and we will see if we can learn more about it then.

(End of this chapter)