Chapter 1956

Several years after Danzhou was placed under the rule of Haihan, it was adjusted from the original temporary administrative area to a "city". The corresponding various government offices and official institutions also changed to a certain extent during the Ming Dynasty, and the staffing was larger than before.

It is large and the division of functions is more detailed. And because there are many businessmen, sailors and literati from the Ming Dynasty, Annan and other countries here, there is also a foreign affairs management office to manage foreigners.

However, this department does not have much real power. Its main function is to register various relevant information. For example, foreign students studying in various academies, foreign businessmen who have opened local commercial institutions, and other foreign personnel who have lived in Danzhou for a long time will all be here.

There is an archive of information. However, when there are officially organized foreign affairs activities, this department will also temporarily act as the executor of foreign affairs reception tasks. But most of the time, this is just a Qingshui Yamen that mainly does paperwork. Most of the time

They are all in a state of being deserted and with few cars and horses in front of the door.

However, in the past two days, this former Qingshui Yamen has suddenly become lively and has suddenly become a hot spot in the local social circle. All officials working in this organization have received invitations to banquets from all aspects, as well as a large number of uninvited guests.

These enthusiastic visitors all had a common purpose, which was to inquire about the crown prince of Joseon who was about to visit Danzhou.

There are also some impatient people who have openly offered prices to the officials of the Foreign Affairs Office, hoping that they can provide information on the itinerary of North Koreans. The related prices have also been rising all the way, from the initial one hundred to two hundred.

, someone soon sold it to four figures, and it continued to show an upward trend. Everyone hoped to buy the information at an attractive price, and then quickly resold it for a big price on the black market.

The sponsor of the intelligence acquisition. However, they probably didn't expect that some people in the Foreign Affairs Office actually had a hidden identity as an agent from the Ministry of Security.

"This method worked." After Wang Baisuo received the report from his subordinates, he immediately informed Zhang Qianzhi of the situation.

"Okay! Then we can start the next step!" Zhang Qianzhi was quite excited when he heard the news. Time was running out at the moment. The two days Zhang Xin left for him were actually up, but his opponent had not shown up yet.

Fortunately, due to bad weather at the Black Earth Port, the ship could not be put out to sea for the time being, which gave him an extra day or two of buffer time, otherwise he would have been forced to terminate the operation now.

The plan prepared by Zhang Qianzhi and Wang Baisuo is divided into two parts. The first step is to release news on the local black market through some special channels and purchase the itinerary of the Joseon Crown Prince's visit to Danzhou at a high price. The purpose of this step is to let the potential lurkers know

Local opponents have a sense of urgency. If they have not realized the need to collect relevant intelligence, then releasing this news will probably attract them to pay attention to this field.

The content of the second step is to echo the situation created in the first step, create a source of information that seems to be reliable, and then release information about the itinerary of the Joseon Crown Prince, and then offer a price higher than the current market price.

The selling price first drives away those who want to fish in troubled waters, and those who are still willing to pay high prices to buy information at this time must be people with evil intentions.

Of course, even if the opponent is really lurking in Danzhou at this time, this plan will not be 100% effective. There are too many uncontrollable variables. For example, the opponent may not be willing to accept this trick of buying and selling information, or may want to buy information but but

But there are not enough funds to carry out the operation, or the other party has other information channels and does not bother to purchase information through the black market. There may be many other situations like this. Zhang Qianzhi’s most optimistic estimate is that there is only a 30 to 40% chance of luring the snake out of the hole.

.

But this probability is enough for the Ministry of Security, and it is worth investing manpower and material resources to arrange such a seemingly complicated operation. Judging from the feedback received so far, at least the first step of the operation has achieved satisfactory results.

As a result, almost the entire black market in Danzhou has been leveraged. Many people who are not engaged in the intelligence broker industry also want to try their luck at this high price. If someone is secretly paying attention to the news about the Joseon Crown Prince, it will be very serious.

It’s hard not to be affected by the current trend.

For those uncontrollable situations, the Ministry of Security will also try to eliminate their interference as much as possible and reduce the possibility of opponents using other intelligence collection methods in the current situation. In other words, it is to turn the channels under the control of the Ministry of Security into theoretically the only ones.

intelligence sources, leaving as little room for the opponent to operate as possible.

According to the requirements of the Ministry of Security, even the Foreign Affairs Management Office, which was responsible for the reception of foreign dignitaries in the past, has not received any accurate information. All parties have spent a lot of effort and only learned that the visit of the Prince of Korea to Danzhou has not yet been completed.

We are planning, but no specific itinerary has been made yet.

The key to this matter is that the Foreign Affairs Management Office is only responsible for reception work. As for arranging the itinerary, it is not their job. Instead, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes the lead and coordinates with the transportation, civil affairs, security and other departments. For outsiders who want to know about the itinerary of the Joseon Crown Prince, please contact us.

The Foreign Affairs Management Office is right, but the above has not sent the relevant itinerary to the Foreign Affairs Management Office at all, so naturally I can't get any specific information here.

Above the Foreign Affairs Management Office is the mayor who directly serves Zhang Xin. This is the true top of Danzhou's officialdom. Most people cannot reach this far. But if the news comes from

Here, the external credibility is very high.

Mr. Huo is also one of the vast majority of people. He does have some connections in the local government, but the one who can really contribute to this matter is a deputy director of the Foreign Affairs Management Office. This is why he

He had full confidence in the information that Xue Zheng had previously purchased. He had already thought about it and would give 10,000 to his source after the matter was completed, so he did not treat the other party badly.

But as the news of the purchase spread on the black market, the price of the information also rose. In order to ensure that his source would not betray him, Mr. Huo had no choice but to follow the rhythm and increase the price, promising his price to the deputy director who had been silent.

It will definitely be higher than the price currently reported outside - he is really worried that the man who only recognizes money but not people will not be able to resist the temptation of the black market price and directly sell the information to others.

But in the end, the man who had already received a deposit of 5,000 gave Mr. Huo a more realistic answer: "A few days ago, we were indeed notified that the Prince of Korea would come to Danzhou for a few days, but I don't know if it was because someone

For hyping this matter outside, the mayor's office may be worried about safety issues. As of today, they have not given out the itinerary, nor announced when the Joseon Crown Prince will arrive. If you want to blame it, blame the person who made random bids to acquire the information.

!”

Mr. Huo not only wanted to blame, he had torn the heart of this meddlesome person with his hands. If someone hadn't done this extraneous business, then maybe he would have obtained the information from the deputy director at this time and resold it to increase the price.

He sold it to Xue Zheng and put all the money in his pocket.

However, now because someone is secretly raising prices outside, the entire Danzhou black market has been stirred up by this incident, and the officialdom seems to have been affected by this, and the itinerary of the Joseon Crown Prince has been kept confidential. This makes the matter originally thought to be a certainty.

Mr. Huo was quite unwilling.

Of course, if he has the ability to build connections with the mayor's office, he still has a great chance to get this valuable information before everyone else. But Mr. Huo weighed his financial background and the possibility of being able to do this.

Sex is minimal.

Mr. Huo's family had some assets in Danzhou in the early years, but because when Haihan entered Qiongbei, his family belonged to a faction that was unwilling to cooperate with Haihan, and they were on the wrong side again when it came to the Danzhou assassination in 1631.

Later, his family was confiscated, his property was confiscated, and he was expelled from Hainan Island. Mr. Huo changed his name and finally managed to stay in Danzhou. However, due to family reasons, he was no longer able to do formal business, let alone go to Danzhou.

If you apply for the imperial examination of Haihan Kingdom, you can only do some gray area business in Danzhou.

Fortunately, he has a good mind, and he has experienced the decline of his family, so he doesn't have too many scruples in doing things. In the past few years, he has managed to create a good situation in Danzhou, and also managed some official connections. Working as a broker in Danzhou

In the business circle, the name "Mr. Huo" has gradually become popular. However, he knows that his identity is sensitive, and he lives in seclusion all year round. He almost never shows up in public to avoid causing unnecessary disasters. However, this sense of mystery makes customers feel more suspicious of him.

For example, Xue Zheng, who came to the door, felt that Mr. Huo was quite cautious, so he dared to cooperate with him with confidence.

But if Mr. Huo wants to continue to improve his strength, he must get in touch with higher-level figures, and this is an insurmountable bottleneck for him. For example, the mayor's office, which is in charge of various key affairs in Danzhou,

The officials who work among them are all Zhang Xin's close confidants. They will all have bright futures in their official careers and will never be bribed by black marketeers like him.

The current situation is that the Mayor's Office is responsible for formulating and arranging the itinerary of the Joseon Prince in Danzhou, and the Foreign Affairs Management Office, after receiving the itinerary conveyed by the Mayor's Office, will be responsible for supervising the implementation of related tasks, such as arranging accommodation, transportation, meals, etc.

Wait. Originally not many people cared about the itinerary of the Crown Prince of Joseon, but now it has become a hot spot on the black market. I don’t know how many people are watching the Foreign Affairs Management Office overtly or covertly. Once the itinerary is obtained here, I’m afraid there will soon be people passing through various channels.

The intelligence is sold to the market through various channels, and because the intelligence comes from more than one source, the price will collapse all the way. At that time, Xue Zheng will pay another 70,000 to buy his intelligence, or spend less money to buy it directly from the market, then it will not

That’s so good to say.

With everyone staring at the Foreign Affairs Management Office, Mr. Huo could not even guarantee that he would be the first person to get the itinerary from the outside world. After all, the deputy director was definitely not the only one who liked money. Everyone in the Foreign Affairs Management Office could

Anyone who comes into contact with the itinerary for the first time may take it out in exchange for an income.

The more Mr. Huo thought about it, the more he felt that the duck in his mouth was about to fly away. He even had other thoughts at this moment. Should he consider taking advantage of Xue Zheng and his gang, or simply try to sell them out?

, maybe he can get a pardon from the government for himself, so that he no longer has to live in the dark.

But he immediately gave up such an idea. It was not that he wanted to pay attention to the morality of the world, but that he felt that he was already used to this kind of lifestyle, used to hiding in the dark and doing some business that was not allowed by the government. If he really returned to

In a normal environment, he would feel uncomfortable.

As for the way of eating black people, Mr. Huo is a little tempted. It is obvious that outsiders like Xue Zheng are very rich and will not hesitate to achieve their goals. If they can quietly eat these people, they will definitely swallow the money.

It’s not just the 100,000 Haihan coins promised by Xue Zheng.

But Mr. Huo was also a little worried that he was not strong enough to swallow this hedgehog. After all, the other party was a ruthless person who was plotting against the crown prince of Joseon. Moreover, he sent people to investigate the place where Xue Zheng and others stayed. There were more than a dozen of them.

Although on the surface they are grain merchants, upon closer inspection it is not difficult to find that these people should all be skilled practitioners.

Although Mr. Huo is a local snake, his business is actually based on selling various information and acting as a middleman. Except for a few personal bodyguards, most of his people actually run errands for him throughout Danzhou to collect information.

He is not a criminal who kills people and sells goods. If he wants to securely take over Xue Zheng and his gang, he will have to find other underground forces to borrow talents. At that time, not only will he have to give out more money, but he will also have to find ways to get everyone involved in the operation.

Keeping it a secret will inevitably lead to trouble again. If you are unfortunate enough to let a few people in, the trouble will be even greater.

"That's it! Let's spare their lives first, and we'll see what happens later!" Mr. Huo thought for a long time, but still felt that this method of handling was not safe enough, and finally decided not to make a decision in a hurry. If this deal really cannot be done in the future, then

Consider unconventional ways to solve it.

In the final analysis, he still has a glimmer of hope for the current situation, and thinks that he can still look forward to whether there will be a turnaround. Although he doesn't know where the turnaround will come from, his years of experience allow him to feel that the current situation will turn around.

The market conditions are unreasonable and there are too many traces of human manipulation, but he does not know how to crack them and does not have the ability to find out the manipulators behind them. However, his intuition is that this situation should change soon.

Because the price of relevant information changes almost every moment, and this situation cannot continue forever.

Only half a day after talking to the deputy official of the Foreign Affairs Office, the change that Mr. Huo was looking forward to appeared. However, whether this change was good or bad for him was not immediately clear.
Chapter completed!