Chapter 2374

The most prestigious uncle of the Ma family rarely comes back, so the distinguished guests cannot be ignored. The entire streets inside and outside Majiazhuang have been cleaned in advance. Although it is not to the extent of "splashing the streets with clean water and paving the roads with loess", it is indeed necessary.

Much neater than usual.

The carriage that Chen Yixin and his party were riding in stopped outside the Ma family's ancestral hall. According to the rules of the Ma family, family members who have returned from a long journey should first go to the ancestral hall to offer incense to their ancestors to thank them for their unparalleled support.

Protect the safety of future generations.

Although Chen Yixin is an atheist, he has long followed the local customs and has no objection to such folk customs. He and his wife followed Ma Dongqiang and others into the ancestral hall to offer incense and pay their wishes.

After coming out of the ancestral hall, Ma Dongqiang took the initiative to mention the next arrangements: "Son-in-law, it's rare for you to come back once, so today we have a banquet at home for you and your wife to cleanse themselves from the dust. You don't want to see anyone outside!"

Chen Yixin responded: "Then I'll have to thank my father-in-law!"

However, the scale of the reception banquet set up by the Ma family was much larger than Chen Yixin imagined. In addition to more than 20 banquet tables set up in the Ma family's courtyard, a total of hundreds of banquets were held in the entire Majiazhuang.

All members of the Ma family participated, and the atmosphere was like a festival.

In addition to members of the Ma family, there are also some people who are closely related to the Ma family. For example, several of the Ma family's current main business partners. Even if the big boss is too late to come to Fushan County, there are at least shopkeeper-level people present.

.Zhang Pucheng, the magistrate of Fushan County, Huang Qu, the general manager, and other local civil and military officials also appeared in the Ma Family Courtyard.

On the one hand, these people came to give Ma Dongqiang a platform so that Ma Dongqiang could have more face. On the other hand, they also wanted to take this opportunity to establish a relationship with Chen Yixin. After all, this was a position that most of them could access.

The highest Haihan official. Since the Ma family can prosper quickly under the care of Chen Yixin, other people will naturally have the idea to follow suit. Maybe they can win the appreciation of General Chen, and even a little bit between his fingers will be enough.

I made a lot of money myself.

After the banquet started, a long line of people came to the main table to toast Ma Dongqiang and Chen Yixin. Although Chen Yixin didn't like this way of socializing, he still gave his father-in-law face and patiently dealt with them one by one. But he definitely didn't like drinking.

Those who know how to do it can just sit down, raise a glass and touch their lips.

Since Chen Yixin has a high position, those who come to toast naturally do not dare to think that there is a problem with his attitude. It is enough to say a few words in person and introduce his identity. As for the subsequent development of the relationship, they can only be prepared.

I will visit you again in private as a gift.

Chen Yixin originally wanted to mention the current situation in Shandong to Ma Dongqiang in the context of a family banquet, but there was an endless stream of people coming to toast, and there was no privacy at all, so he could only give up the idea temporarily. However, he still reminded Ma Dongqiang

Don't drink too much during the dinner. We have important things to discuss later.

Of course, Ma Dongqiang also knew that his son-in-law would not suddenly come back to visit relatives for no reason. He must have made a special trip to deal with important matters, so he stopped drinking and reminded his son Ma Cai and brother-in-law Jiang Sheng to drink less.

At one o'clock, stay awake and wait until the banquet is over to participate in the discussion together.

The number of people in the Ma family who are qualified to discuss matters face to face with Chen Yixin can actually be counted on one hand, including Chen Yixin's wife Ma Yuling. Therefore, the number of participants in the meeting after the banquet was much smaller.

Ma Dongqiang, Ma Cai and his son, Jiang Sheng, plus Chen Yixin and his subordinates Zeng Xiaowen and Liu Shang, were all the people who participated in the meeting. Zeng Xiaowen and Liu Shang had both been stationed in Fushan County with Chen Yixin for a long time, so they followed Ma

These people in the family were all familiar with each other. Ma Yuling was not interested in this kind of meeting, so she took her son to the market to watch the excitement.

Chen Yixin said: "I went back to Fushan County this time, firstly to visit relatives, and secondly because I have a mission. Last time my father-in-law sent a report to Jinzhou, I felt that the situation was serious and that we must pay enough attention to it."

Ma Dongqiang asked quickly: "Will the Qing army fight all the way to Dengzhou?"

Chen Yixin shook his head slightly and said: "This possibility is unlikely. Moreover, the Qing army knows that our country has troops stationed in Dengzhou, so they will not take the initiative to come here to cause trouble."

Ma Dongqiang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good if we can't defeat them... The Qing army knocks on the gate every year. They will retreat after they finish looting. After this period of time, everything will be fine."

Chen Yixin said: "I think the Ming court had a mentality similar to that of my father-in-law, waiting for the Qing army to retreat on its own. But this year's situation may be a little different from previous years. The Qing army has already invaded Shandong, and maybe Jinan City will too.

If it is breached, have you thought carefully about what will happen and what kind of impact Dengzhou will be affected?"

As soon as Chen Yixin said this, the expressions of the three Ma family members immediately changed. They had all personally experienced the Denglai Rebellion eight years ago. Sometimes they would have nightmares and couldn't help but think of the refugees and rebels who filled the mountains and plains back then.

At that time, the social order in Denglai and Denglai Prefectures had completely collapsed. Rebels and refugees swept across the Shandong Peninsula like locusts, creating greater chaos. The Ma family was forced to abandon their home and fled to Fushan County for refuge.

A lot of property was also lost in this war. A considerable part of today's Majiazhuang was gradually rebuilt after the Denglai Rebellion.

At that time, neither the local government nor the imperial court in the capital had very good control measures to control the chaos in Denglai and Denglai. The Ming court mobilized reinforcements from all walks of life to pursue and intercept the rebels led by Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others, but

The results were scant, and it took eighteen months to quell the rebellion. The rebels even managed to escape from the sea and fled to Liaodong to join the Hou Jin Dynasty. Rather than saying that they successfully quelled the rebellion, it was better to say that they failed to quell the rebellion in the end.

The only option is to open a hole to let the rebels leave Shandong.

The destruction and impact caused by the chaos on Shandong and the Ming Dynasty continues to this day. Those who witnessed it will still feel palpitations when talking about the Denglai Rebellion. As soon as they heard Chen Yixin talk about the consequences of the war, the three Ma family members immediately

I automatically think of the tragic situation I experienced that year. If such a mess happens again, can the Ma family be able to withstand it this time?

If it weren't for Chen Yixin's reminder, he would have been almost completely unaware of the impact that the war in Jinan Prefecture might have on Dengzhou. And even with the Haihan Army on Zhifu Island as the backing, Ma Dongqiang would not be sure that Majiazhuang would be where it is today.

Can withstand such chaos.

"Jinan City... has a high wall and a strong garrison, so it shouldn't be easily broken by the Qing army, right?" Ma Cai asked hesitantly.

Chen Yixin knew that his brother-in-law was good at business but had limited knowledge of military affairs. He immediately explained to him: "Jinan City does have strong fortifications, but the problem is that the Ming army was concentrated on the Dezhou front line to block the Qing army. Jinan

The current garrison is not large, and it may be difficult to resist the Qing army's offensive. If Jinan falls... Shandong will be in chaos!"

As soon as Chen Yixin came to this conclusion, the faces of the three Ma family members became even uglier. Although the Ma family has now begun to gradually expand its business overseas, most of the industries and trade channels are still in Shandong. If Shandong is in chaos,

The Ma family will inevitably suffer great economic losses. Although it is not known where the battlefield information Chen Yixin obtained came from, Haihan has always been very accurate in military intelligence, so no one will doubt what Chen Yixin said.

The truth of these words.

Chen Yixin saw their expressions in his eyes and felt that they should have realized the seriousness of the matter, so he said unhurriedly: "Even if our army sends troops, it will be difficult to stop the Qing army's offensive, so what should we do?"

Reducing the losses we will incur is a top priority."

The "we" Chen Yixin refers to here naturally does not only refer to the Haihan Kingdom, but also includes the Ma family. Because seriously speaking, no matter how chaotic Shandong is, the negative impact it can have on Haihan is actually extremely limited.

, at most, Fushan Copper Mine needs to suspend production for a period of time. The real huge losses must be the Ma family, whose industry is concentrated in the local area. Chen Yixin is now showing his attitude to the Ma family. Haihan will not sit back and watch the difficult situation that the Ma family will face next.

.

Ma Dongqiang knew that he could not rely on the local government to provide protection in this situation. Only Haihan could protect the Ma family. He quickly asked: "Xian son-in-law, if something like what you said really happens, we will

How should we respond?”

Chen Yixin said: "Let me outline the arrangements first. You can see if there are any problems and then propose them to solve."

Chen Yixin's plan is to recruit refugees as the center, provide rations and accommodation to the refugees entering Dengzhou, and then ship them overseas in batches for resettlement. What the Ma family can do now is to expand the original immigrant camps and living facilities as soon as possible and purchase food

, medicines and various living supplies to accommodate the large influx of refugees who will flood into Tengzhou at some point in the future.

After listening to Chen Yixin's introduction, Ma Dongqiang still looked worried and said: "Xian son-in-law, if a large number of refugees enter Dengzhou, it will definitely cause chaos in the local order. How can we maintain this? I'm afraid we can only rely on the local Haihan Army and militia.

I can’t handle a big scene.”

Chen Yixin responded: "We will next transfer a reinforced battalion from North Korea to Fushan County. Together with local armed personnel, it should be enough to cope with such a situation. We have been doing related work in the past few years.

, I believe you don’t have any skills yet, right?”

Haihan's garrison in Fushan County remains at about a thousand people, stationed at the Fushan Copper Mine and Zhifu Island Base. Public security in other areas is maintained by local militia and a small number of Ming troops in the county. After a reinforcement battalion was transferred,

The number of local armed personnel will reach about 3,000, which is enough to manage several times the number of refugees.

When Haihan established a stronghold on Zhifu Island, absorbing immigrants was a very important part of the local business. To this end, he also built a large-scale immigration camp near Majiazhuang. At that time, Liu Shangchu arrived in Shandong

When I was young, I was assigned to be a propaganda officer in that immigration camp.

Originally, with the increasing peace in Shandong, fewer and fewer people were willing to follow Haihan to leave Daming. There was no need for a resettlement camp as a temporary resettlement facility. The Ma family also planned to demolish the camp and take the land after the spring.

Come out and build a goods yard to cope with the growing local trade volume.

But the current situation is backfiring. If Shandong is in chaos, the trade situation will be greatly affected. Even if a new cargo yard is built, it will only remain empty. The immigration camp, which has almost become idle, is the facility that really needs to be expanded immediately.

Ma Dongqiang smiled and said: "It will cost a lot of money to purchase supplies, expand the immigration camp, and other messy things..."

Chen Yixin understood his implication and decisively took over the conversation: "Father-in-law, please rest assured that matters regarding the reception of refugees will be handled in the same way as before. The national treasury will allocate special funds, and the expenses paid by father-in-law will be reimbursed by our country in the future.

.Other rules are the same as before. Remuneration will be calculated for the Ma family based on the number of people."

Ma Dongqiang's face brightened after hearing this, and he quickly said a few polite words, but he didn't mean to refuse. He had been cooperating with Haihan for several years, so he naturally knew that operating this immigration project would definitely make a profit, and it would also bring benefits

The Ma family has many additional benefits. If the Qing army's invasion of Shandong will bring considerable losses to the Ma family's current business projects, then the income from assisting Haihan to receive refugees and then transporting them overseas for resettlement can probably be still

Offsetting some of the losses, you might be able to make a small profit if the situation is good.

Ma Dongqiang doesn't care whether this approach is suspected of violating Ming law. Firstly, he can make money, and secondly, it can also give refugees who have no livelihood a chance to survive. In his opinion, it is a good way to get the best of both worlds. And as long as

If these refugees are properly resettled, more secondary disasters will not occur due to the refugee flow, which is actually a good thing for Ming Dynasty.

As for whether the identity of these refugees will become Haihan people in the future, Ma Dongqiang believes that this is also a rare blessing for them. At least the Haihan people do not have to worry about their hometown being invaded by foreign enemies one day, and they do not have to leave their homes and flee.

Chen Yixin continued: "Zeng Xiaowen and Liu Shang will provide guidance on the specific implementation plan. If you encounter any problems during the implementation, you can come to them for solutions. If they can't solve the problems, come to me."

"Then how much time do we have to prepare?" Jiang Sheng, an old scholar who had been listening quietly without speaking, finally asked a very crucial question.

Chen Yixin said: "It's difficult for me to give a specific time, because I don't know the progress of the war in Jinan now. It still needs to be sent back by the intelligence department to confirm. But I want to start from the moment the Qing army arrived in Jinan.

From the beginning, people in the surrounding areas should have already entered a state of flight. You can estimate how long it takes to travel hundreds of miles from Jinan to Dengzhou. If nothing else, some refugees should have arrived by this time.

It’s on the ground in Dengzhou.”
Chapter completed!