Chapter 559 The situation is stronger than the people

After all, Li Jin is currently the highest-ranking general in Danzhou. However, as soon as he arrived, he was threatened by a local military attache who had colluded with the Haihan people. This really made him extremely angry. His face turned red.

Looking like he was about to have an attack, Yan Mingjun quickly grabbed his arm and gently advised him: "Brother Li, if you argue with them at this time, you will only suffer a loss. You have to think about it in the long run!"

How could Li Jin not know this truth? Several soldiers around him have been injured and sent away, and he has no military power in his hand. How can he still cause trouble in Danzhou alone? He hasn't even touched the situation in Danzhou yet.

Qing Qing, there was indeed nothing to rely on when the quarrel started. He had just impulsively involved everyone around him, and Li Jin also knew that he would still be the one to suffer if the quarrel continued.

Depressed, they still had to go to Danzhou City. The two of them anxiously got on the carriage arranged by Zhang Xin and headed to Danzhou City, twenty miles away. On the way, they both noticed the road leading from Danzhou Bay to Danzhou City.

The official road in Danzhou City is undergoing large-scale renovation. The original loess official road is crowded with people, and the sound of stone cutting and chanting can be heard endlessly. Judging from the start of construction, it seems that the original official road is being further widened.

This widening project does not seem to be as simple as repairs. It directly extends the original road to the side more than double.

Yan Mingjun asked the coachman: "Danzhou was hit by bandits a few months ago. I heard that the whole city was plundered by pirates. Where did the money come from to renovate the official roads?"

The coachman responded: "Of course this is a favor from the leaders of Haihan. Is it possible that it is collected from the people?"

"Such a large project must be very expensive!" Yan Mingjun noticed that there were probably no less than a thousand workers on various construction sites along the way. With so many people, it was not even a daily expense for food and drink.

It's a small amount. This shows how much Haihan invested in Danzhou.

The coachman said: "The leaders of Haihan have always been willing to advocate building bridges and paving roads. Wherever they go, they will build roads... Hey, sir, look at the slogan on the roadside in front of you!"

Yan Mingjun followed the hope of his riding whip and saw the slogan "If you want to be rich, build the road first" written in white paint on the outer wall of a house with mud walls by the road, each word was two feet square, separated by

It is also very conspicuous from a distance.

The coachman continued: "The leaders have said that only when roads are opened can goods be transported easily, and money can be valuable only when it circulates. Silver placed in a cellar is no different from stones. The same is true for goods. Find a way to move it

Only when goods are sold to places where there is demand can you make money. The faster they are transported, the faster you make money..."

Although what the coachman said was vulgar, it did make some sense. Yan Mingjun was not a nerdy official with no practical knowledge. He had also dealt with Haihan's caravan when he was in Luoding Prefecture. He had also been familiar with Haihan's business philosophy before.

I've heard of some. It's just that Luoding Prefecture is located in the inland of Guangdong, and Haihan doesn't seem to be interested in investing too much money in building bridges and paving roads there. Of course, comparing the situation in Danzhou, it is very likely that Haihan people will weigh

The criterion for whether to build infrastructure locally is the degree of control they have over the place.

Yan Mingjun thought for a while and then asked: "The products in Danzhou are not rich. If the Haihan people are so big in building and renovating official roads, are they afraid that there will not be much business to do and they will not be able to recover their capital?"

The coachman smiled and said: "Sir, you have just arrived and you don't know how the leaders manage the place. When the leaders were building roads in various parts of Qiongzhou, the government thought it was a loss-making business, but the adults couldn't understand.

How much benefit will be gained after these roads are repaired? The villain does not have the brains as good as the leaders, and I don’t know how to recover the capital in the future, but if you say that building the road will lose money, the villain will not believe it."

Yan Mingjun felt something was wrong after hearing this. After thinking about it carefully, he realized that the coachman was secretly mocking himself for thinking he was smarter than the Haihan people, and he felt dumbfounded at the moment. But he also knew that the Haihan people were indeed good at business, otherwise how could he

From overseas traders who first arrived three years ago, they have become the most wealthy and powerful emerging force in the southeast of the Ming Dynasty. Judging from what we can see so far, most of the Qiongzhou Island is probably already populated by Haihan people.

Now that they are in charge, their management ability is definitely far superior to that of the local government. It is indeed a bit unnecessary to worry about Haihan by myself.

Of course, Yan Mingjun would not argue with the coachman. Since it was Haihan who arranged the carriage, then the coachman must also be working for Haihan. Maybe he has already obtained some naturalization certificate created by the Haihan people.

, it is not surprising that his attitude would be biased towards Haihan. However, seeing that the coachman seemed to have nothing to hide, Yan Mingjun tried to get more words out of him.

"I heard that Danzhou City was attacked by pirates and the damage was quite serious. The Haihan people arranged so many workers to build roads outside the city. What was the situation in the city like?" Yan Mingjun said calmly.

Keep asking.

The coachman responded: "That is to say, a section of the wall outside the Yamen was blown down by pirate artillery. The rest was not serious. After the militia came, they simply tore down that section of the wall. Now the Danzhou governor

The office of the committee. There are not many places in the city that require groundbreaking. Most of the local workers are concentrated on the construction site of Baimajing Pier and this official road. After this is completed, the renovation of the road leading from Danzhou will probably continue.

There are official roads in Lingao and Chengmai counties, and there is also an official road from Danzhou Bay to Changhua, and it is said that ground is also being prepared."

The more Yan Ming heard, the more frightened he became. It was obvious that the Haihan people had no intention of defending the city. They did not strengthen the construction of city fortifications after taking control of Danzhou. Instead, they continued to build roads that radiated to the surrounding areas. He was a bit disdainful of this routine.

Understood. But one thing he has thought of is that since the Haihan people have laid out this way in Danzhou, the measures taken in other places on Qiongzhou Island should be similar to this. If the Haihan people try to build a road network throughout the island

, it is obvious that they want to operate the entire Qiongzhou Island as their own backyard.

Although Yan Mingjun's guess is somewhat biased, it is not far from the truth. In the mid- and long-term plans of the Executive Committee, Hainan Island must not only build a road network around the island, but also achieve road connectivity between counties, prefectures, and prefectures.

At the same time, the construction of the wired telegraph network is proceeding almost simultaneously with the advancement of road projects. In the Qiongnan area, wired telegraph communication has been implemented in the line from Yacheng to Tielugang, and is gradually starting from the east and west lines.

The coastline is advancing northward. In addition, the inspection work of the railway network around the island has also been included in the agenda of the Ministry of Construction.

About an hour later, the convoy finally arrived outside Danzhou City. Yan Mingjun saw from the car window that the soldiers on duty inside and outside the city gate were not Ming troops, but Haihan militiamen in gray military uniforms. It was obvious that Danzhou

So far, the city's defense is still controlled by the Haihan militia. It's no wonder that the local guard Qian actually works as a town lion on the dock of Danzhou Bay instead of garrisoning the city defense - if he stays in Danzhou

There is probably no place for him in the city.

Just like at the pier, there were no welcoming 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, there were many people at Fucheng and Baimajing piers.

After the encounter, Yan Mingjun no longer felt any sense of loss in his heart.

After the motorcade stopped, Yan Mingjun got out of the car and saw a building in the shape of a government office. However, the gate looked a little stingy and did not look like a government office. Besides, the coachman on the road said that when the pirates attacked the city,

At that time, artillery was used to blow down the gate and the surrounding wall of the state government. It has not been repaired so far, and the building does not seem to have been baptized by war.

During the hesitation, Zhang Xin came over and explained to him: "The original state government office is now the office of the Danzhou Management Committee. Because there was no time to repair it and the conditions were poor, we arranged for Mr. Yan to live here first and wait for it to be completed later.

Then we can move to another place. This was originally the place of Dongchang, which can also be regarded as the government office of the imperial court. There is a courtyard with three entrances, and you can live safely in the back. The place is a little smaller, so don’t mind, Mr. Yan."

What can Lord Yan Ming do? Should he just walk away because he thinks the facade is too small and doesn’t suit his liking? Of course, he can only accept it and let his servants carry the luggage inside. At least the Haihan people have arranged a yard. If they don’t accept it, now

Where can I find another suitable place to live in this situation? All I can do is face reality and accept Haihan's arrangement first. As for future plans, I guess I can only take it one step at a time.

Yan Mingjun also had a hint of regret at this time, why he impulsively grabbed the official position of the candidate magistrate in the first place. Although Luoding Prefecture could not achieve much political achievements and had few opportunities for promotion, at least it was safe and sound. It took a lot of hard work.

Shao Yinzi has just arrived in Danzhou, but obviously the situation here is far from what he originally expected. Any ambitious plans now seem to be unrealistic dreams.

Li Jin followed him into the courtyard and walked around, then asked impatiently: "Director Zhang, where is my destination?"

"It's very close, just across the street." Zhang Xin explained while leading the way: "The courtyard opposite also has three entrances. It is about the same size as here. It is suitable for both office and residence. The place has been cleaned and you can move in immediately.

"

Li Jin had already paid attention to the surrounding environment before entering the courtyard. After hearing this, he asked: "The courtyard opposite used to be a government office, right?"

"Yes, it used to be the Yamen of Jinyiwei." Zhang Xin smiled at Li Jin and said: "After all, Jinyiwei and Dongchang have a close relationship, so their Yamen in Danzhou are across the street from each other, you know."

Of course, Jinyiwei and Dongchang are not like-minded partners, they are enemies. The two yamen have many close or overlapping functions. Most of the time, they are competitors with conflicts of interest. This kind of relationship is also true in Danzhou.

There are no exceptions. The offices of these two rival yamen are facing each other, and there is a sense of competition. However, during the occupation of the pirate army, these two yamen were completely cleaned up as a matter of course.

Most of the people who worked there are still digging coal in Annan's mines.

"What about the two yamen in the future?" Yan Mingjun asked tentatively.

"If the Guangdong government wants to send someone over to supplement, then we will just arrange another place at that time. The two adults can live there with peace of mind. In addition, for the official handover, someone will come to handle the formalities with you tomorrow, so you two don't have to be too anxious."

Zhang Xin cupped his fists and said, "I still have things to do. I'll have someone come to invite you two to a banquet later. See you later!"

Li Jin was alone and didn't have much luggage, but four of his soldiers were beaten and sent to the hospital. Now there was no one to help him carry his luggage, so Yan Mingjun asked his servants to carry Li Jin's luggage into the car.

Enter the house.

Although the three courtyards are not large in area, they are quite complete in function despite their small size. The first courtyard is the court where official business is handled, the second courtyard is the study room and the warehouse where various materials are stored. The third courtyard is for living.

As for the place where prisoners are imprisoned and executed, it is not here, but in the Danzhou Prison outside the east gate of the city. This is purely an office space. The structure of the courtyard arranged for Li Jin is basically the same, so it can

In terms of accommodation, Haihan did not intentionally set them up or mistreat them.

However, Li Jin still felt a little uncomfortable in his heart and said, "Brother Yan, the yamen we should be in charge of are all occupied by some Haihan people's management committee, and the real owner has been squeezed into this shabby position.

This place is really annoying!"

"The situation is stronger than the people!" A sentence that Liu Qian said before setting off from Guangzhou suddenly popped into Yan Mingjun's mind.

Although they are orthodox court officials who came to Qiongzhou Island on behalf of the Ming Dynasty to manage this place, the aura and status they carry are of little use here. The Haihan people do give them a certain amount of respect.

and basic preferential treatment, but this does not seem to regard them as immediate superiors, but as two clay Bodhisattvas who come here to enjoy incense. Although both of them feel angry and unhappy about this, they are indeed powerless to change this situation. Now

Except for a few servants brought by Yan Mingjun, they don't even have anyone locally who can command them. Yan Mingjun really can't imagine how the Haihan people will hand over work to them tomorrow.

"It's better to pack your things and settle down first. After meeting with the Haihan people in the evening, we can test their tone." Yan Mingjun had no better way to deal with it at this time. They came from Guangzhou and had almost no contact with them.

People outside Haihan's circle can only hope to meet some local gentry who are keen on the Ming Dynasty at the reception banquet in the evening, and then see if they can learn more about the situation.
Chapter completed!