1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 869 Useless Negotiations

He Xiao has never read the report submitted by Ma Ling to Chang Guowei, nor is he aware of the entanglement between the Shipu Guard and the Haihan people, but seeing how confident Qian Tiandun is, he can roughly guess that this Ma Qianhu is from the station. Where is it.Originally, he didn't quite believe that the Ming military was involved in this matter, but since the person in charge of the military is on the island, he can see and find out the truth.

Ma Ling had nothing to do on the island. The reason why he stayed here was that the Haihan people were worried about letting him go back to Shipu Port and put him under their noses for surveillance; on the other hand, they found him a The reason for suppressing the bandits is to avoid reporting to Changguowei temporarily in order to evade the call of the superior.So he had nothing else to do except watch the Haihan fleet coming in and out on the pier these days, so he rushed to the command post soon after receiving the news.

He Xiao was a staff member of the prefect of Ningbo, so he naturally knew about Ma Ling, but Ma Ling had little contact with the prefect Yan Guowei, so he didn't know He Xiao, so Lin Xingju introduced the two of them.After taking his seat, Qian Tiandun asked Ma Ling to tell He Xiao what happened again.

Regarding this set of rhetoric, Ma Ling has been pondering over and over again in the past few days, and he has tried his best to make up for some obvious loopholes in words.At this time, what he said to He Xiao was much fuller than the official document submitted to Chang Guowei. Even Qian Tiandun nodded from time to time, which was regarded as a compliment to Ma Ling's performance.

After He Xiao listened to Ma Ling's description, he had a relatively clearer understanding of the whole incident.Although he is still dubious about some of Ma Ling's statements, there are a few things that are certain.

The first is that the Haisha Gang is indeed over. Judging from the information we have learned so far, the Haihan people should be the masterminds, and the Sanlin Gang and Shipu Weisuo are just helping the Haihan people.

Second, the Haihan people have no intention of leaving Zhejiang after finishing the Haisha gang, but intend to settle down here.

Third, this matter is not over yet. The Haihan people believe that there are still accomplices of the Haisha gang in the East China Sea. If all these accomplices are not resolved, the Haihan people do not intend to stop.Although the Liuheng Island incident has caused a lot of trouble, it may only be the beginning of a great change.

This kind of tossing is definitely not a situation that the local government wants to see. If the East China Sea is in chaos, Ningbo's maritime trade will be significantly affected.The entire Ningbo Mansion has hundreds of thousands of people living off the sea, and the government will have nothing to do to suppress the large-scale civil unrest.

But how to prevent the Haihan people from continuing to act is a difficult problem for He Xiao.Originally, he planned to use his official status to suppress the Haihan people, but after meeting him, he realized that the Haihan people didn't have much fear of the Ming Dynasty government, and he pushed the responsibility away, saying that he was only assisting the Ming Dynasty military Suppress bandits.If He Xiao wanted the Haihan people to stop their actions, he had to deal with the military first, and this so-called main messenger, Shipu Qianhu Ma Ling, clearly seemed to obey the Haihan people's words, and it seemed that he was completely in the hands of the Haihan people. A puppet, asking him to order the prohibition of Haihan people from carrying out operations in the Zhoushan Islands, the effect is tantamount to playing the piano against a cow.

He Xiao didn't know how Chang Guowei and the higher-up Zhejiang Dusi viewed Liuheng Island, so he didn't dare to make irresponsible remarks on Ma Ling's actions.After pondering for a while, he asked, "Is the suppression of the bandits being coordinated by Shipu, or by Chang Guowei?"

Regarding the issue of responsibility, Ma Ling had already thought about it in advance, and upon hearing the words, he responded: "This matter is temporarily in the charge of this officer, but it has been reported to Chang Guowei. Presumably the commander of the guard, Mr. Yan, has also communicated the news to Zhejiang Dusi. Afterwards How to arrange, should still be issued by the Zhejiang Metropolitan Division. If Mr. He has any questions, you can contact the Zhejiang Metropolitan Division."

What Ma Ling deceived was He Xiao's civilian status, so he couldn't directly ask the military high-level officials about these matters. The prefect of Ningbo wanted to know which level of military organization was responsible for this matter, so Qu Yutong had to send an official document to him. Inquired by Zhejiang Dusi.It will take at least a few days to find out the result.After the Ningbo Mansion asks about the situation, it will send He Xiao to Liuheng Island to negotiate. The Haihan people have won at least a few more big islands. After a month or two, the Haihan people will definitely be able to reach the goal. desired result.

With He Xiao's identity, even if he knew Ma Ling was going around in circles, he couldn't get angry at him.So he could only turn his finger on Qian Tiandun again: "Boss Qian, it is certainly a righteous act to assist the government in suppressing bandits, but this place is under the jurisdiction of Ningbo Mansion, and your actions should follow the orders of Ningbo Mansion. If you cause chaos because of bandit suppression If you leave the place, it will defeat your original intention of sending troops, what does Boss Qian think?"

"It won't be us who mess up the place, but our opponents." Qian Tiandun said unhurriedly: "We will only bring untold wealth and a safe and orderly trading environment to Ningbo Prefecture. This point has been well proven in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, if Mr. He doesn't know about it, we can always arrange a boat to take you to the south to experience it."

Of course, He Xiao could not have the leisure time to go to the south for investigation at this time. His task was to find out the intentions of the Haihan people and limit their actions as much as possible, instead of being led by the nose by the Haihan people.Qian Tiandun kept going around and refused to respond directly. He Xiao had no other choice but to speak more bluntly: "Boss Qian, I believe you also know who I am here on behalf of. Regarding your current actions, My adults don’t like it very much. Ningbo Mansion is not Guangzhou, nor Zhangzhou, and there are rules here. If you don’t respect the rules here because of your strength, you will also learn a lesson because of it!”

"Lesson? Who's coming? Is it your lord or the Ningbo garrison?" Qian Tiandun said back without hesitation, slowly raised his hand and raised two fingers: "We usually only deal with two kinds of people, one One is a partner, the other is an enemy. Up to now, all opponents who have tried to be hostile to us and cause us trouble have all failed. We are not afraid of any opponent. If you don’t believe in evil, welcome to try.”

He Xiao didn't expect that Qian Tiandun's attitude was so tough, his tone was so rampant, and he didn't know how to refute for a while.He really wanted to say that he would send troops to Liuheng Island to take you, a traitor, in another day, but seeing Ma Ling on the opposite side who looked at the show with a smile that was not a smile, he could only swallow his words—Jun Maybe Fang has already joined forces with the Haihan people. If the harsh words are first exposed, the military will not cooperate with the Ningbo government. Wouldn't it be a big joke.

Qian Tiandun saw that He Xiao was dumbfounded, and then said kindly: "Be simple, the way to ask for money is simple. What your adults are worried about is that the money you get will be less in the future? I will give you one right now." Promise, as long as your lord is willing to cooperate with us, the money you get every year will not be less, but will also increase. If you want to make further progress in your official career, we will also cooperate to help your lord improve your political achievements. You can help pay for the joints. We have enough money, and it depends on whether your adults have the ability to come and get it."

This is simply blatant bribery!He Xiao can only make such an evaluation of Qian Tiandun's remarks.Although the Sanlin Gang would give money to Qu Yutong in the past, they never said it publicly, let alone such a superior attitude.He Xiao really wanted to say that it is great to be rich, but the Haihan people seem to be higher than Daming in every way, they want money, they want money, they want soldiers, so cursing like this will not have any effect other than making them look poor .

"If your lord is not interested in Haihan's money, that's okay. I think there will always be people who are interested in the huge Ningbo Mansion. We will support whoever cooperates with us. Since we can get Master Xu from Fujian Send the general to the position of the general of a province. Of course, you can also support a magistrate in Zhejiang. If 10 taels is not enough, then 20 taels. If it is not enough, we will continue to add more until the person in this position becomes ours. As long as the goal can be achieved, the money will be worth it." Qian Tiandun looked at He Xiao with a sarcasm and said, "I just don't know if your lord has the confidence to fight against us at that time?"

He Xiao is angry, but he also knows that what Qian Tiandun said is not all lies. It is rumored that Zhonghai Han is rich and powerful, and with their arrogant and straightforward style of doing things, there is nothing they can't do ?His master, Qu Yutong, was not a native of Zhejiang. If the Haihan people really planned to support local officials, Qu Yutong would easily be at a disadvantage as a foreigner.Haihan's money may not be able to bring up lower-level officials soon, but it is not difficult to do something in Ningbo to get Qu Yutong away.

He Xiao adjusted his breathing, trying to calm down his mood.He knew that the opponent he met this time was a strong man that he had rarely seen in his career. If he handled it carelessly, it would be a small matter to lose face, but it would be a big deal to affect Qu Yutong's career prospects.Judging from the situation discussed so far, although the attitude of the Haihan people is unreasonable and arrogant, at least they did not tear up their faces when they came up, and Qian Tiandun clearly proposed that they can exchange money for the official support of Ningbo Prefecture. condition.As for whether to accept such a condition, after all, the matter is of great importance, and He Xiao dare not make a decision for Qu Yutong.

Silver is a good thing, and He Xiao also knows that his master has always been interested in making money, but the premise that he is willing to give money is to let Qu Yutong meet some of their requirements. If Qu Yutong can't do it, then give it away. No amount of silver is worth it.Although the Haihan people are well-known upstarts, they are also very shrewd businessmen. It is impossible to give away money for nothing, and the exchange they want to achieve is probably the basis for the cooperation between the two parties.

"I don't know what conditions you have? Boss Qian, can you tell me first?" He Xiao tried his best to make his tone appear calmer.

"Our conditions are very simple." Qian Tiandun was prepared for this, and immediately came up one by one: "First, allow Haihan merchants and goods to enter Ningbo Prefecture for normal transactions. Second, allow the Haihan militia to control the Zhoushan Islands." Third, do not interfere with Haihan’s daily operations in the Zhoushan Islands.”

"That's all?" He Xiao was a little surprised. He originally thought that Qian Tiandun would make some unreasonable demands, such as asking Qu Yutong to endorse their smuggling trade to make it legal.Or open up special ports, settlements, etc. for Haihan people in Ningbo Prefecture.The only thing that is a bit difficult to deal with among the three is the second one, but if the Haihan people act fast enough, the Ningbo government can barely suppress the news with peace of mind.

"We don't need much help from Ningbo officials now, as long as we don't come out to get in the way." Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "As long as we solve the local separatism of the Zhoushan Islands, the trading volume of sea trade here can at least double. Three times, whether it is for us or for the local people in Ningbo, it will be of great benefit. Your adults no longer have to worry about the pirates and smugglers in the East China Sea fighting because of the uneven distribution of spoils, and you don’t have to worry about the pirates piled up on your desk every year. The case is bothering you. Once we have control of the area, everything will be peaceful."

He Xiao couldn't find anything wrong with Qian Tiandun's words, but he always felt that the three conditions proposed by Qian Tiandun were an ambush, which always made him feel uneasy.He Xiao's feeling was actually correct. Qian Tiandun's three seemingly normal requests were indeed hidden tricks.

The first condition is that as long as Haihan's business system can gain access to Ningbo, it will soon use advanced business models to change Ningbo's business form, driving Ningbo locals and more Zhejiang merchants to enter Haihan's business. in the system.And when the interests of these people become closely related to Hai Han, the local opposition to Hai Han will naturally gradually disappear.

The second condition, the purpose is actually to find an officially recognized reason for the legal existence of the Haihan militia in the Zhoushan Islands, so that the Haihan militia can stationed in the Zhoushan Islands in a grandiose manner, and quickly dismember and annex other armed forces in this area.

The third condition is to lay the groundwork for Haihan to develop the Zhoushan Islands as a colony.In the future, Haihan will open a port in Zhoushan, and immigrate to farmland. This can be said to be a normal business scope. In a few years, all these places can be peacefully turned into territories actually occupied by Haihan.

These little tricks of Qian Tiandun can't be said to be very clever, but as He Xiao, who doesn't have a deep understanding of Haihan's strength, it is difficult to see through the sinister intentions hidden by the Haihan people behind these few conditions.Because it was really hard for him to imagine that the Haihan people could solve the many forces in the Zhoushan Islands in a short period of time, and quickly separate this area from Daming in the future management and become Haihan's own territory.

(End of this chapter)