Chapter 1548
Buying High Officials
Chapter 1548 Buying High Officials
In matters of making money, no one would think that there is anything wrong with earning a little more, from traffickers and pawns to court officials.Especially when a large amount of money can flow into one's own pocket automatically, and the source is legal, even fewer people can resist this temptation.I think Wang Yuan, the general judge, was once an aspiring young man who was passionate about being a judge of the Ming Dynasty, but under the polishing of social reality, the edges and corners gradually disappeared in the process of being an official.
Now Wang Yuan's business cooperation with Haihan is booming, money is continuously coming into his name through various channels, and the scale of the industries he directly or indirectly manages is getting bigger and bigger.This sense of accomplishment in business management is different from being an official. In Wang Yuan’s view, there is an upper limit to the road of being an official. Background, strength, and opportunities are all indispensable. For example, he wants to go up in his current position. It was very difficult to walk, even with Haihan's backing and blessing, it would be difficult for him to reach a higher-level seat for a while.
But doing business is different. As long as the operation is done properly, the business scale can be continuously expanded, and the scope of business will not even be restricted by national boundaries. He felt the long-lost excitement.If Wang Yuan resigns now, the business experience he has learned from interacting with Haihan people is enough to make him a successful businessman.
Shi Diwen wanted to use him to drag Zhejiang chief envoy Wang Ji into the water, which seemed logical to Wang Yuan. If the Haihan people did not take this action for a long time, Wang Yuan would find it unreasonable.Shi Diwen had mentioned to him more than once before that Haihan would definitely not openly invade Daming, but he would try to win over local high-ranking officials when necessary, so as to ensure the stability and safety of Haihan's various industries and income in Daming.
With Wang Yuan's position, he could naturally be regarded as a high-ranking local official. In the era when the traverser lived, he was equivalent to the executive deputy mayor in charge of specific work in certain fields.In Hangzhou, Wang Yuan still had considerable influence, even He Guanzhi, the magistrate, did not dare to provoke him easily.However, for Haihan, just controlling officials at the state level is not enough to achieve long-term planning, and the governors in charge of administrative affairs in each province naturally become the first choice.
Zhejiang chief envoy Wang Ji can get online through Wang Yuan's network, Shi Diwen will naturally not let it go, no matter whether he can negotiate a cooperation with Wang Ji in the end, at least he must work hard in this direction.If it doesn't work, we should leave a hole here, and then let Schneider or Ning Qi, an executive committee member who is good at negotiating, go to Zhejiang to contact Wang Ji in person.
Of course, before that, Shi Diwen also specially sent a telegram back to Sanya, applying to the executive committee for various special conditions required for the negotiation.If you want to buy a high-level provincial official, you have to come up with some benefits that can impress the other party.The executive committee has also given Shi Diwen relatively large authority in this regard, and there is almost no upper limit on the economic aspect, as long as Shi Diwen thinks it is worth it.Unless the conditions put forward by the other party involve Haihan's future political stance, other conditions can basically be decided by Shi Diwen.
After obtaining sufficient authority from the executive committee, Shi Diwen came to Hangzhou and asked Wang Yuan to arrange a meeting with the chief minister Wang Ji for him.Wang Yuan's efficiency was quite good. Shi Diwen had only waited for one day in Hangzhou before he heard back. Wang Ji agreed to meet Shi Diwen in a house at the foot of Tianmu Mountain in the north of Hangzhou City.
This meeting place was proposed by Wang Ji on his own initiative, Shi Diwen took a closer look, and felt that this person really had some skills.First of all, the other party does not want to meet in an official capacity in Hangzhou, but arranges a private place outside the city, which shows that Wang Ji has deep plans. No matter whether Haihan wants to discuss cooperation and conditions, it is also a private nature. Anything that Ji said does not represent the official Ming Dynasty.Secondly, this place is arranged in the north of the city, far away from the Qiantang River, which is relatively easier to control in Haihan. It may be that there is no defense against Shi Diwen.If there is any unexpected situation, the Haihan people participating in the negotiation must go around half of Hangzhou City before they can return to the water they are familiar with, so that Wang Ji will allow himself sufficient reaction time.
However, Shi Diwen is not worried about what kind of tricks Wang Ji will play with him. Officials at Wang Ji's level must have received the news of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Daming and Haihan. The court made an explanation.So Shi Diwen readily agreed to the conditions proposed by Wang Ji, and met at the place designated by the other party two days later.
There is actually quite a lot of work to be done on Haihan's side for this meeting. The field team of the security department went back and forth twice to determine the route to and from the location, and how to escort Shi Diwen to safety in case something happens on the way. emergency route of evacuation.In addition, other departments must also make preparations in advance to deal with emergencies, especially after Shi Diwen left Zhoushan, almost all related work was delegated to naturalized officials. Shi Diwen, all departments must continue to operate as usual.
Shi Diwen only has two days to arrange these things, and he can't go back in Hangzhou now, so most of the things at work can only be arranged remotely.Fortunately, he had arranged most of the work in advance before he set off from Zhoushan, and now he only needs to make minor adjustments.During this period, he even took the time to meet with several groups of local businessmen who had business dealings with Haihan, and negotiated several deals with large volumes.
Shi Diwen met local businessmen in the Haihan Commercial Inn by the Qiantang River in a leisurely manner. Naturally, some people reported these situations to Wang Ji.Regarding the calmness shown by Shi Diwen, Wang Ji also relaxed a little bit. He thought that the Haihan people's appointment with him might be related to the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the trade matters in Zhejiang should be re-approved. Said that two days later, he agreed to meet again two days later, so Wang Ji was also happy to have a little more time to prepare for this meeting.
Two days later, a train of horses drove out from the commercial warehouse by the Qiantang River. There were a total of three carriages and more than 20 riders.The more than [-] Ming troops sent here by the Hangzhou government to station near the commercial warehouse in the name of protection had already received the order beforehand and did not follow them.This is also Shi Diwen's request. He believes that there is no need to use this kind of battle to protect him in the vicinity of Hangzhou City, which has good law and order. It is enough to have his own personal guard.
Of course, Shi Diwen still had unspoken subtext. In fact, he thought that the Ming army sent by the Hangzhou government was useless except to get in the way. In terms of combat effectiveness, it was definitely not as good as the guard platoon he brought with him.Without these Ming troops following them, the team could move more freely.
This team did not choose to pass through the city, but chose a route from the east of the city in a very low-key manner.This is also the suggestion of the field team of the Ministry of Security, because the city has a large population and complex environment, and it is difficult for the guards to deploy and control it effectively.It is better to go around directly from outside the city, the terrain is open, and it is not easy to be ambushed secretly.Although the route is a bit detoured, it is relatively safer and more reliable.
Although the purpose of arranging this route outside the city is for low-key travel, in fact, this team is very eye-catching when walking outside. After all, it is difficult to see so many knights guarding the carriage convoy on the official road.And the fact is exactly the same, when the pedestrians and horses on the official road saw the formation of this team, they all took the initiative to avoid it, lest they would run into some important person.
The origin of the name of Tianmu Mountain is related to its topography. "Yuanhe County Chronicles" records: "There are two peaks, each with a pool on the top of the peak, which are symmetrical on the left and right, and the name is Tianmu." The temperature is also often stable at the level of [-]-[-] degrees, which can be described as warm in winter and cool in summer.
Such a famous mountain naturally cannot do without the historical and cultural heritage left by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.There are more than 34 temples and nunneries in the mountains, and thousands of monks.Zhang Daoling, the great master of Taoism in the Western Han Dynasty, practiced Taoism here. Ge Hong, the master of Taoism, once practiced alchemy here. The "Dongyuan Collection" of the Eastern Han Dynasty even called Tianmu Mountain "[-] caves".Since the Ming Dynasty alone, hundreds of literati have climbed Tianmu Mountain, leaving hundreds of poems and essays to record the beautiful scenery here.
But the place Wang Ji agreed on was not actually in the mountainous area of Tianmu Mountain, at most it was just at the foot of the mountain that can be regarded as the remaining vein of Tianmu Mountain.This is the place called Dongming Mountain.This house is located in a metasequoia forest. From the outside, it is difficult to see the buildings inside through the dense forest. If there is not a four-foot-wide stone carriageway leading to the forest, it is easy to mistakenly think that the forest is actually a forest. It is an abandoned house.
The name of this house is also taken according to the environment here, it is called "Qiushanju", which means that the best scenery here is when the leaves of the whole forest turn yellow in autumn.Although the property rights of this place are not in Wang Ji's hands, the owner has actually handed over the house to him.Wang Ji can call this place to do what he wants at any time, and of course it also includes meeting some guests with special identities who are not easy to show up in public, such as Shi Diwen.
Outside the metasequoia forest, there was a Ming army on duty. When Hai Han and his group approached, some soldiers stopped them in the middle of the road and asked that only one carriage could enter, and the others had to wait outside.Shi Diwen knew that this was a sign that the other party was afraid of him, so he didn't say anything at the moment, so he did what they wanted.
After a while, Wang Ji and Shi Diwen finally met in a flower hall in Qiushanju.Wang Ji expressed admiration for Shi Diwen's youth: "It turns out that the local person in charge of your country is so young. I have heard a little about General Shi's deeds, but I didn't expect him to be a very low-key person in private." !"
Shi Diwen is actually in his thirties at this time, but because he has been pampered in Zhoushan for a long time, his appearance has always maintained the same level as when he first joined the time-traveling operation, and there has been no obvious change after more than eight years.
Shi Diwen smiled and clapped his hands in response: "My lord Wang is overwhelmed! If I have the opportunity to invite my lord to live on Zhoushan Island for a while, aging will naturally slow down."
Wang Jidao: "In the past two years, I have often heard people talking about Zhoushan Island, but I have never seen it. After the imperial decree of establishing diplomatic relations comes down, I must go to the local area to see what your country has turned the island into. "
"You are always welcome." Shi Diwen was right about this, but all Ming people who have been to Zhoushan Island are all surprised by the level of development and construction on the island.Even though Wang Ji is a high-ranking official in Zhejiang, Shi Diwen is sure that he will be surprised when he sees a seaport of the scale of Dinghai Port.
After the two sat down and chatted for a while, Wang Ji brought the topic back to the right track: "General Shi came to Hangzhou this time, and he went to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing. Since he specially made an appointment to meet with this official, it must be that General Shi is not just Come here to have a cup of tea and chat for a while?"
Shi Diwen said: "You can drink tea anytime, anywhere. This time, I am asking for a chance to meet with Your Excellency. In fact, I have something important to discuss."
Wang Ji's vision and level were much higher than those of Wang Yuan and He Guan, so when he heard this, he took the initiative to answer for him: "Since you are not here for tea, you must be here to discuss business. Tell me, your Excellency plan How to do it."
Shi Diwen said: "Master Wang must already know that the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries is imminent. From now on, all the state capitals along the coast of Zhejiang will release Haihan merchants and goods. I wonder if Master Wang is interested in participating?"
Wang Ji just looked at him, but didn't respond.Seeing this, Shi Diwen understood that the other party was probably waiting for him to offer more specific conditions, so he immediately said: "If there is any firm under Mr. Wang's name, you can sign up with us, and you will have the opportunity to get some products at that time." monopoly."
Wang Ji still didn't speak, and started to drink tea with a calm look. It seemed that Shi Diwen's conditions did not satisfy him immediately.
Shi Diwen thought for a while and then asked: "Is Mr. Wang interested in investing overseas? Find out about the plantation project. In recent years, it has always been one of the key projects for Ming businessmen to invest in our country."
Wang Ji responded slowly: "How is the profitability of this plantation?"
"Generally, the cost will be paid back in about three years, and the profit period can reach more than 20 years. The short-term profit may not be as good as ordinary commodities, but the long-term income is stable..." Shi Diwen saw that Wang Ji finally asked a question, and quickly responded while explaining: "For Mr. Wang, who is unable to take care of the plantation himself because of his busy schedule, our country also provides comprehensive trusteeship services."
After listening to it, Wang Ji asked again: "Apart from plantations and commodity sales, is there anything else?"
Hearing his tone, Shi Diwen obviously didn't pay attention to the conditions he had just offered, and he couldn't help muttering in his heart that Wang Ji's thoughts were not small, and ordinary officials would generally be more satisfied when they heard these two conditions. The first time I met Wang Ji, I even asked if there were other projects.
(End of this chapter)
In matters of making money, no one would think that there is anything wrong with earning a little more, from traffickers and pawns to court officials.Especially when a large amount of money can flow into one's own pocket automatically, and the source is legal, even fewer people can resist this temptation.I think Wang Yuan, the general judge, was once an aspiring young man who was passionate about being a judge of the Ming Dynasty, but under the polishing of social reality, the edges and corners gradually disappeared in the process of being an official.
Now Wang Yuan's business cooperation with Haihan is booming, money is continuously coming into his name through various channels, and the scale of the industries he directly or indirectly manages is getting bigger and bigger.This sense of accomplishment in business management is different from being an official. In Wang Yuan’s view, there is an upper limit to the road of being an official. Background, strength, and opportunities are all indispensable. For example, he wants to go up in his current position. It was very difficult to walk, even with Haihan's backing and blessing, it would be difficult for him to reach a higher-level seat for a while.
But doing business is different. As long as the operation is done properly, the business scale can be continuously expanded, and the scope of business will not even be restricted by national boundaries. He felt the long-lost excitement.If Wang Yuan resigns now, the business experience he has learned from interacting with Haihan people is enough to make him a successful businessman.
Shi Diwen wanted to use him to drag Zhejiang chief envoy Wang Ji into the water, which seemed logical to Wang Yuan. If the Haihan people did not take this action for a long time, Wang Yuan would find it unreasonable.Shi Diwen had mentioned to him more than once before that Haihan would definitely not openly invade Daming, but he would try to win over local high-ranking officials when necessary, so as to ensure the stability and safety of Haihan's various industries and income in Daming.
With Wang Yuan's position, he could naturally be regarded as a high-ranking local official. In the era when the traverser lived, he was equivalent to the executive deputy mayor in charge of specific work in certain fields.In Hangzhou, Wang Yuan still had considerable influence, even He Guanzhi, the magistrate, did not dare to provoke him easily.However, for Haihan, just controlling officials at the state level is not enough to achieve long-term planning, and the governors in charge of administrative affairs in each province naturally become the first choice.
Zhejiang chief envoy Wang Ji can get online through Wang Yuan's network, Shi Diwen will naturally not let it go, no matter whether he can negotiate a cooperation with Wang Ji in the end, at least he must work hard in this direction.If it doesn't work, we should leave a hole here, and then let Schneider or Ning Qi, an executive committee member who is good at negotiating, go to Zhejiang to contact Wang Ji in person.
Of course, before that, Shi Diwen also specially sent a telegram back to Sanya, applying to the executive committee for various special conditions required for the negotiation.If you want to buy a high-level provincial official, you have to come up with some benefits that can impress the other party.The executive committee has also given Shi Diwen relatively large authority in this regard, and there is almost no upper limit on the economic aspect, as long as Shi Diwen thinks it is worth it.Unless the conditions put forward by the other party involve Haihan's future political stance, other conditions can basically be decided by Shi Diwen.
After obtaining sufficient authority from the executive committee, Shi Diwen came to Hangzhou and asked Wang Yuan to arrange a meeting with the chief minister Wang Ji for him.Wang Yuan's efficiency was quite good. Shi Diwen had only waited for one day in Hangzhou before he heard back. Wang Ji agreed to meet Shi Diwen in a house at the foot of Tianmu Mountain in the north of Hangzhou City.
This meeting place was proposed by Wang Ji on his own initiative, Shi Diwen took a closer look, and felt that this person really had some skills.First of all, the other party does not want to meet in an official capacity in Hangzhou, but arranges a private place outside the city, which shows that Wang Ji has deep plans. No matter whether Haihan wants to discuss cooperation and conditions, it is also a private nature. Anything that Ji said does not represent the official Ming Dynasty.Secondly, this place is arranged in the north of the city, far away from the Qiantang River, which is relatively easier to control in Haihan. It may be that there is no defense against Shi Diwen.If there is any unexpected situation, the Haihan people participating in the negotiation must go around half of Hangzhou City before they can return to the water they are familiar with, so that Wang Ji will allow himself sufficient reaction time.
However, Shi Diwen is not worried about what kind of tricks Wang Ji will play with him. Officials at Wang Ji's level must have received the news of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Daming and Haihan. The court made an explanation.So Shi Diwen readily agreed to the conditions proposed by Wang Ji, and met at the place designated by the other party two days later.
There is actually quite a lot of work to be done on Haihan's side for this meeting. The field team of the security department went back and forth twice to determine the route to and from the location, and how to escort Shi Diwen to safety in case something happens on the way. emergency route of evacuation.In addition, other departments must also make preparations in advance to deal with emergencies, especially after Shi Diwen left Zhoushan, almost all related work was delegated to naturalized officials. Shi Diwen, all departments must continue to operate as usual.
Shi Diwen only has two days to arrange these things, and he can't go back in Hangzhou now, so most of the things at work can only be arranged remotely.Fortunately, he had arranged most of the work in advance before he set off from Zhoushan, and now he only needs to make minor adjustments.During this period, he even took the time to meet with several groups of local businessmen who had business dealings with Haihan, and negotiated several deals with large volumes.
Shi Diwen met local businessmen in the Haihan Commercial Inn by the Qiantang River in a leisurely manner. Naturally, some people reported these situations to Wang Ji.Regarding the calmness shown by Shi Diwen, Wang Ji also relaxed a little bit. He thought that the Haihan people's appointment with him might be related to the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the trade matters in Zhejiang should be re-approved. Said that two days later, he agreed to meet again two days later, so Wang Ji was also happy to have a little more time to prepare for this meeting.
Two days later, a train of horses drove out from the commercial warehouse by the Qiantang River. There were a total of three carriages and more than 20 riders.The more than [-] Ming troops sent here by the Hangzhou government to station near the commercial warehouse in the name of protection had already received the order beforehand and did not follow them.This is also Shi Diwen's request. He believes that there is no need to use this kind of battle to protect him in the vicinity of Hangzhou City, which has good law and order. It is enough to have his own personal guard.
Of course, Shi Diwen still had unspoken subtext. In fact, he thought that the Ming army sent by the Hangzhou government was useless except to get in the way. In terms of combat effectiveness, it was definitely not as good as the guard platoon he brought with him.Without these Ming troops following them, the team could move more freely.
This team did not choose to pass through the city, but chose a route from the east of the city in a very low-key manner.This is also the suggestion of the field team of the Ministry of Security, because the city has a large population and complex environment, and it is difficult for the guards to deploy and control it effectively.It is better to go around directly from outside the city, the terrain is open, and it is not easy to be ambushed secretly.Although the route is a bit detoured, it is relatively safer and more reliable.
Although the purpose of arranging this route outside the city is for low-key travel, in fact, this team is very eye-catching when walking outside. After all, it is difficult to see so many knights guarding the carriage convoy on the official road.And the fact is exactly the same, when the pedestrians and horses on the official road saw the formation of this team, they all took the initiative to avoid it, lest they would run into some important person.
The origin of the name of Tianmu Mountain is related to its topography. "Yuanhe County Chronicles" records: "There are two peaks, each with a pool on the top of the peak, which are symmetrical on the left and right, and the name is Tianmu." The temperature is also often stable at the level of [-]-[-] degrees, which can be described as warm in winter and cool in summer.
Such a famous mountain naturally cannot do without the historical and cultural heritage left by Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism.There are more than 34 temples and nunneries in the mountains, and thousands of monks.Zhang Daoling, the great master of Taoism in the Western Han Dynasty, practiced Taoism here. Ge Hong, the master of Taoism, once practiced alchemy here. The "Dongyuan Collection" of the Eastern Han Dynasty even called Tianmu Mountain "[-] caves".Since the Ming Dynasty alone, hundreds of literati have climbed Tianmu Mountain, leaving hundreds of poems and essays to record the beautiful scenery here.
But the place Wang Ji agreed on was not actually in the mountainous area of Tianmu Mountain, at most it was just at the foot of the mountain that can be regarded as the remaining vein of Tianmu Mountain.This is the place called Dongming Mountain.This house is located in a metasequoia forest. From the outside, it is difficult to see the buildings inside through the dense forest. If there is not a four-foot-wide stone carriageway leading to the forest, it is easy to mistakenly think that the forest is actually a forest. It is an abandoned house.
The name of this house is also taken according to the environment here, it is called "Qiushanju", which means that the best scenery here is when the leaves of the whole forest turn yellow in autumn.Although the property rights of this place are not in Wang Ji's hands, the owner has actually handed over the house to him.Wang Ji can call this place to do what he wants at any time, and of course it also includes meeting some guests with special identities who are not easy to show up in public, such as Shi Diwen.
Outside the metasequoia forest, there was a Ming army on duty. When Hai Han and his group approached, some soldiers stopped them in the middle of the road and asked that only one carriage could enter, and the others had to wait outside.Shi Diwen knew that this was a sign that the other party was afraid of him, so he didn't say anything at the moment, so he did what they wanted.
After a while, Wang Ji and Shi Diwen finally met in a flower hall in Qiushanju.Wang Ji expressed admiration for Shi Diwen's youth: "It turns out that the local person in charge of your country is so young. I have heard a little about General Shi's deeds, but I didn't expect him to be a very low-key person in private." !"
Shi Diwen is actually in his thirties at this time, but because he has been pampered in Zhoushan for a long time, his appearance has always maintained the same level as when he first joined the time-traveling operation, and there has been no obvious change after more than eight years.
Shi Diwen smiled and clapped his hands in response: "My lord Wang is overwhelmed! If I have the opportunity to invite my lord to live on Zhoushan Island for a while, aging will naturally slow down."
Wang Jidao: "In the past two years, I have often heard people talking about Zhoushan Island, but I have never seen it. After the imperial decree of establishing diplomatic relations comes down, I must go to the local area to see what your country has turned the island into. "
"You are always welcome." Shi Diwen was right about this, but all Ming people who have been to Zhoushan Island are all surprised by the level of development and construction on the island.Even though Wang Ji is a high-ranking official in Zhejiang, Shi Diwen is sure that he will be surprised when he sees a seaport of the scale of Dinghai Port.
After the two sat down and chatted for a while, Wang Ji brought the topic back to the right track: "General Shi came to Hangzhou this time, and he went to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing. Since he specially made an appointment to meet with this official, it must be that General Shi is not just Come here to have a cup of tea and chat for a while?"
Shi Diwen said: "You can drink tea anytime, anywhere. This time, I am asking for a chance to meet with Your Excellency. In fact, I have something important to discuss."
Wang Ji's vision and level were much higher than those of Wang Yuan and He Guan, so when he heard this, he took the initiative to answer for him: "Since you are not here for tea, you must be here to discuss business. Tell me, your Excellency plan How to do it."
Shi Diwen said: "Master Wang must already know that the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries is imminent. From now on, all the state capitals along the coast of Zhejiang will release Haihan merchants and goods. I wonder if Master Wang is interested in participating?"
Wang Ji just looked at him, but didn't respond.Seeing this, Shi Diwen understood that the other party was probably waiting for him to offer more specific conditions, so he immediately said: "If there is any firm under Mr. Wang's name, you can sign up with us, and you will have the opportunity to get some products at that time." monopoly."
Wang Ji still didn't speak, and started to drink tea with a calm look. It seemed that Shi Diwen's conditions did not satisfy him immediately.
Shi Diwen thought for a while and then asked: "Is Mr. Wang interested in investing overseas? Find out about the plantation project. In recent years, it has always been one of the key projects for Ming businessmen to invest in our country."
Wang Ji responded slowly: "How is the profitability of this plantation?"
"Generally, the cost will be paid back in about three years, and the profit period can reach more than 20 years. The short-term profit may not be as good as ordinary commodities, but the long-term income is stable..." Shi Diwen saw that Wang Ji finally asked a question, and quickly responded while explaining: "For Mr. Wang, who is unable to take care of the plantation himself because of his busy schedule, our country also provides comprehensive trusteeship services."
After listening to it, Wang Ji asked again: "Apart from plantations and commodity sales, is there anything else?"
Hearing his tone, Shi Diwen obviously didn't pay attention to the conditions he had just offered, and he couldn't help muttering in his heart that Wang Ji's thoughts were not small, and ordinary officials would generally be more satisfied when they heard these two conditions. The first time I met Wang Ji, I even asked if there were other projects.
(End of this chapter)