Chapter 2434

"Mr. He, do you think that I acted a little too hastily?"

In a moving carriage in Ningbo City, an old man in his fifties said to the scribe kneeling next to him: "It is a rare opportunity to meet with high-ranking officials from Haihan this time. General Shi also said in his letter,

If you miss it, you may not be able to wait until next time! After much thought, I still have to go to Zhoushan to feel at ease."

The scribe responded: "Your Excellency has assessed the situation, and there is no problem in making such a decision. I am just worried that if someone with an intention discovers your whereabouts, rumors will be spread that are detrimental to Your Excellency."

Just as the old man was waiting for a reply, the car stopped with a slight tremor, and a follower's voice came from outside the car: "Master, we have arrived at the city gate!"

The old man waved his hand to the scribe and said, "Go and deal with the outside matters first."

The scribe nodded slightly, lifted the curtain and got out of the car. It was getting late at this time, and the city gate had been closed. Ordinary people would definitely not be able to get out at this time. However, after the scribe whispered to the captain guarding the gate, the captain

He commanded the soldiers to reopen the city gate and let the group of people out of the city without making a sound.

After leaving the city, the group walked north for about two or three miles and arrived at a pier on the bank of the Yongjiang River. There were already people waiting here with lanterns. When they saw a carriage arriving in the distance, they waved their lanterns to point the way.

After a while, the carriage stopped. After getting off the carriage, the old man and the scribe got off the gangplank and boarded a large ship docked here. The attendants quickly moved their luggage onto the ship. After a while, the sailors on the ship removed the gangplank and unmoored the moorings.

The sails were raised and the ship slowly sailed away from the dock. The ship went downstream along the Yongjiang River and soon disappeared into the night.

"Where is the ship?"

Early the next morning, when the sky was dim, the old man woke up and asked about his current location. Someone told him that he was passing Jintang Island off the coast of Ningbo.

The old man silently calculated the itinerary in his mind. From the place where he boarded the boat yesterday to the mouth of the Yongjiang River, there is about thirty miles of waterway. He can only travel by moonlight in the sky at night, and the speed should not be too fast. It is not bad to get to the vicinity of Jintang Island after dawn.

Arriving at Jintang Island, the journey is almost half completed. We can reach our destination at noon at most, which is basically the same time as we calculated.

"Go down and make the boat go as fast as possible, and try to reach Zhoushan before noon!" The old man obviously didn't want to waste too much time on the road, so he immediately ordered the boat to speed up.

Later, the scribe came to the old man's cabin and asked him: "Your Excellency just ordered the ship to speed up? It will inevitably be a little bumpy."

The old man's attitude was very firm: "It's okay if it's bumpy, but things will change if you're late. We'd better try to arrive as early as possible."

The old man who rushed to Zhoushan Island was Qu Yutong, the magistrate of Ningbo, and the scribe serving him was his most trusted aide He Xiao. These two people had a deep relationship with Haihan, and Qu Yutong was even more so.

Married to Shi Diwen, who was guarding Zhoushan, this was not the first time they went to Zhoushan Island in private.

However, the circumstances of his trip to Zhoushan this time were somewhat special. Qu Yutong was rushing to meet with the big figures from Haihan who had recently arrived in Zhoushan to discuss cooperation matters between the two parties in the Ningbo area. The reason why he had to leave the city overnight to rush to Zhoushan was, on the one hand,

Hide your whereabouts to avoid being noticed by the outside world. On the other hand, you must also show that you attach great importance to this meeting and use a sincere attitude to win Haihan's support during the meeting.

If it was a normal matter, Qu Yutong only needed to make an idea behind closed doors with Shi Diwen. However, after all, Shi Diwen was just a general stationed overseas by Haihan. After all, there were some things that he did not have the authority to decide, and this

It was rare that a big figure from the Haihan Executive Committee passed by Zhoushan, and Shi Diwen hoped that Qu Yutong could come forward to negotiate so that the Executive Committee could agree with some of their plans for the Ningbo area.

This matter was related to Qu Yutong's future future. He did not dare to neglect it, so he waited for Shi Diwen's notice in Ningbo City. Yesterday, someone sent a letter to Qu Yutong's house, saying that the big shot had arrived, and asked him to rush there as soon as possible.

Meeting on Zhoushan Island. Qu Yutong knew that the Haihan people should have used a telegraph to send a message to Ningbo City. After calculating the approximate time required for the journey, he replied that the messenger would arrive in Zhoushan at noon the next day and asked him to inform Shi Diwen in advance.

.

The news sent by Shi Diwen did not say that he could only go to Zhoushan alone, so Qu Yutong still brought his trusted staff member He Xiao with him, so that if he encountered any problems, he would have someone beside him who could give advice.

Although the second half of the trip was a bit bumpy, we arrived at Zhoushan Dinghai Port relatively smoothly. Although Shi Diwen did not personally greet him, he arranged for his cronies Duan Tiancheng to bring a carriage to wait for Qu Yutong's arrival at the pier.

"Master Qu, there are distinguished guests visiting General Shi's residence, so I cannot come here to pick you up in person. I hope you will forgive me." Duan Tiancheng was very aware of the personal relationship between Qu Yutong and Shi Diwen, so his attitude was very polite.

"It doesn't matter, I have Major Duan to lead the way." Qu Yutong was not surprised by this. Since the important person visiting Zhoushan this time has a higher status than Shi Diwen, it is reasonable for Shi Diwen to accompany him throughout the whole process. Just like the imperial envoy sent by the imperial court.

When inspecting Ningbo, he would definitely follow him. If Shi Diwen really came to the dock, then he would doubt whether the big shot in Zhoushan was as important as Shi Diwen claimed. Later in Shi Diwen's mansion

, Qu Yutong finally met the nobleman who Shi Diwen insisted that he come to Zhoushan to meet.

"I have admired Mr. Tao's reputation for a long time. When I saw him today, he was indeed very majestic and outstanding among people!" After listening to Shi Diwen's introduction, Qu Yutong immediately took the initiative to express his goodwill to Tao Donglai.

Of course, Qu Yutong knew something about Tao Donglai's identity. He knew that this person's status in Haihan was extremely respected. Although the Haihan Kingdom did not have a king and the executive committee was the highest authority, this person in Haihan had a very high status.

There is also a leader in the executive committee. From a certain perspective, he is almost equivalent to the uncrowned king of Haihan Kingdom.

But it is said that this person rarely leaves Sanya, the capital of Haihan. This time he actually appeared on Zhoushan Island. It is conceivable that he has an extremely important matter. Qu Yutong was able to get the opportunity to meet him. This was naturally because of Shi Diwen's influence.

Light.

Tao Donglai said a few polite words and took the initiative to bring the conversation to the main topic: "Originally, I was in a hurry when I passed through Zhoushan, so I didn't arrange to meet with local officials, but General Shi suggested that I meet Mr. Qu to have a chat. I know.

Lord Qu has a relationship with General Shi, so he is not an outsider when it comes to talking about it, so Lord Qu can speak openly if he has anything to say."

Qu Yutong looked at Shi Diwen, and when he saw that his face was as usual, he responded: "Master Tao, I am the prefect of Ningbo. I have always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic. Everything I do is based on my duty, and I have no selfish motives."

It has been more than a year or two since Qu Yutong and Shi Diwen got together. Tao Donglai also knew a little bit about it, so naturally he didn't believe what the other party said, but on the surface he still had to compliment him to show that he loved him.

There is no doubt about the quality.

Then I heard Qu Yutong continue to say: "In recent years, Ningbo Prefecture has relied on Dinghai Port, a geomantic treasure land, to operate a prosperous maritime trade, the market is prosperous, and the lives of local people are better than before. However, although the local development

Yes, but it also made other prefectures jealous, and they quietly reported to them that I was colluding with you at home and abroad for personal gain, and wanted to subjugate me so that I could take away the position of prefect. I have no authority in the government.

It is difficult for people to defend themselves, so now they can only turn to your country to see if they can manage to preserve this hard-won situation."

When Tao Donglai heard this, he always felt that Qu Yutong's words were familiar. Then he thought about it. The coalition fleet passed by Zhoushan on its way north to North Korea the year before last. In order to get in touch with the troops, he also left Zhoushan to build momentum for Qu Yutong, who was in crisis at the time.

Shi Shunlu arranged a military exercise in Hangzhou Bay. He had talked about it with Shi Diwen before, and Shi Diwen vaguely said that the effect of that military exercise had gradually faded.

On Yu Tong.

Ningbo is adjacent to Zhoushan, and a considerable part of the goods traded at Dinghai Port are shipped from Ningbo. It is indeed Ningbo that benefits the most from the prosperity of Dinghai Port. As the prefect of Ningbo, Qu Yutong, even if he does not have to do anything, will

A lot of money flowed into his pocket. What's more, as long as a careful person pays a little attention, he will find that Qu Yutong's aide He Xiao has many properties in his family. Obviously, it is not the scale of wealth that a behind-the-scenes master can possess. It is not difficult to think that these are actually

They are all the property of the prefect, and their scale and value are not much worse than those of the salt merchants in Yangzhou.

In the eyes of the outside world, Qu Yutong's greatest advantage was that he had established a strong personal relationship through his marriage to the Haihan general who was based in Zhoushan, making the Haihan people willing to hand over many business resources to Qu Yutong.

You can gain astonishing wealth in just a few years by relying on this. It is impossible to say that no one is jealous, and naturally there will be people who want to replace it. As for marriage, you Qu Yutong can send a beautiful girl out,

Won’t others follow suit? Compared with doing business, this kind of link basically has no technical content.

Of course, it doesn't take just ambition to dethrone Qu Yutong. Qu Yutong is now rich and prestigious, supported by civil and military officials at all levels in Ningbo in front of the stage, and supported by Shi Diwen from Zhoushan behind the scenes.

It is not that easy to find a reason to remove him from his post or transfer him to another place. The year before last, someone in Hangzhou had made this idea, but before they could succeed, the Haihan people held a shocking military event in Hangzhou Bay.

They carried out exercises and announced that only Qu Yutong would be recognized in Ningbo. These measures forcibly dissuaded the careerists who wanted to overthrow Qu Yutong at that time.

But now listening to Qu Yutong's words, it seems that this matter is not fully understood. Two years later, someone is eyeing his position as prefect again - or in other words, eyeing the huge economic benefits this position can bring.

But this time Qu Yutong seemed unable to resist and had to turn to Haihan again.

Needless to say, Shi Diwen’s position is definitely on Qu Yutong’s side. Considering that Qu Yutong has contributed a lot to the smooth development of Zhoushan in recent years, and has a considerable degree of tacit understanding in cooperation with Haihan, Haihan supports

It is definitely safer for him to stay on.

While listening to Qu Yutong's explanation of the situation, Tao Donglai sorted out the stakes of the matter in his mind. After Qu Yutong finished speaking, he pondered for a while, and then asked: "Then who wants to harm you this time, with

Were they the same group of people two years ago?"

Qu Yutong shook his head slightly and said: "Two years ago, the people who wanted to replace me were just people in the Zhejiang officialdom, but this time it is the big shots in the court who are behind it!"

"Oh? Someone in the court is also eyeing Ningbo? It seems that your business here is already well-known!" Tao Donglai was a little surprised when he heard the news, but he was not under any pressure and was in the same mood.

Yu Tong made a few jokes.

Someone in the court would keep an eye on Qu Yutong's position. Of course, it is unlikely that they are jealous of his talents. After all, the highest prefect is only from the third rank, which is far behind the senior officials of the court. The only reasonable reason is that they are interested in him.

In order to realize the oil and water that Ningbo, a trading port, can bring, I plan to kick out Qu Yutong and take the profits here as my own. If the management is good, it is possible to steal 1.8 million taels of silver from Ningbo in a year.

Did it.

Qu Yutong sighed: "Master Tao, don't be joking. If someone else really comes to take over Ningbo, I'm afraid Zhoushan's trade will also be affected. You can't be careless about this!"

Of course, Qu Yutong had nothing to do with Haihan. When he asked for help, he could only lower his body, use reason and emotion, and try to make Tao Donglai realize his importance in this trading system.

As Yu Tong spoke, he also signaled Shi Diwen with his eyes, asking the other party to quickly say a few good words for him.

Shi Diwen coughed dryly and interjected: "Mr. Tao, at present, the import and export trade of Dinghai Port, especially the various commodities purchased in the Ming Dynasty, are mostly handled by commercial institutions under the name of Mr. Qu. Over the past few years,

All aspects have been running smoothly, including payment settlement and other matters, which have also been implemented in accordance with domestic standards. If someone is replaced to take over Ningbo Mansion, many matters will have to be dealt with again, which will delay a lot of time, at least

Three to five months, or as long as a year and a half, there may be other unfavorable variables happening in the meantime. In my opinion, I think it is better to help Mr. Qu stay in Ningbo as much as possible, so as to ensure the trade between our country and the Ming Dynasty.

Continue to develop smoothly.”

Tao Donglai actually had a rough conclusion in his mind, but he still had to ask clearly first: "What are your plans now?"

Shi Diwen said: "The plan is to use the military exercises I mentioned to you before. Using this method to knock down mountains and shake tigers will show our country's attitude."

Tao Donglai said: "Are you sure that this method can suppress the big shots in the court? Also, having said so much, who is the big shot eyeing Master Qu's position? Can you give me a name directly?"

Qu Yutong and Shi Diwen exchanged glances, and then confessed to Tao Donglai: "The man behind the scenes is the current Minister of War, Dongge Grand Scholar, Yang Sichang, Lord Yang."
Chapter completed!