Chapter 1579

Embassy

Chapter 1579 Embassy
Xun Pengcheng has been in Haihan for a long time, but this is the first time he met an old friend in Sanya.In fact, he and this Wang Hao are not considered close friends, otherwise they would not even be able to call each other by name after meeting.Back then, the two of them took the exam in the same subject, and after the rankings were announced, they were both selected as scholars, so they spent several days together in Guangzhou.Xun Pengcheng's family has no background, and after being selected as a scholar, he didn't find any good way out, so he returned to his hometown soon.And someone in Wang Hao's family was an official in Guangzhou, and then stayed in Guangzhou.The two had different life backgrounds, and their life trajectories went in different directions after the imperial examination, and they broke up with each other ever since. Before that, Xun Pengcheng never even thought that he would meet Wang Hao again in a foreign country.

"Brother Wang, is this your first time in Sanya?" Seeing that Wang Hao was not used to getting in the car, Xun Pengcheng took the initiative to ask him after looking at the structure of the car.

"Yes, I have long heard that Sanya is more prosperous than Guangzhou City. It is true that it is not as famous as seeing it in person. The Haihan people are indeed capable of building such a big city on the coast of the South China Sea..." Wang Hao looked around the bustle in the car Looking at the scene, I couldn't help expressing emotion: "This place has been a barren beach fishing village for a hundred years. The Haihan people can turn waste into treasure and manage such a situation. I don't know how they did it!"

Xun Pengcheng said: "When it comes to the way of doing business, Haihan people are indeed unparalleled in the world. They are far more savvy than Shanxi, Huizhou, and Zhejiang merchants, and they are full of calculations in everything. If Brother Wang has the opportunity to stay here After a period of time, I will gradually understand the situation here. By the way, I haven't had time to ask Brother Wang, are you coming to Sanya for business or pleasure this time?"

Wang Hao smiled, but did not answer his question directly: "Let's talk about this matter slowly when we sit down later... I think Brother Xun seems to have been here for a long time, so you have already been naturalized Have you arrived in Haihan country?"

When it comes to nationality, Xun Pengcheng still feels a little embarrassed. After all, giving up Ming nationality still feels a bit forgetful to many people, especially like Xun Pengcheng who has only been in Haihan for two years and has truly integrated into the local social life. Immigrants from Daming who have not lived in the country for a long time are even more reluctant to take the initiative to discuss the issue of nationality with people from their homeland.But from a legal point of view, Xun Pengcheng had indeed sworn an oath to the Haihan Code, renounced his previous citizenship of the Ming Dynasty, joined the Haihan nationality and pledged allegiance to the Haihan Kingdom.

Although with Haihan's current national strength and international status, as a citizen of Haihan, there is no need to feel inferior when facing visitors from Ming Dynasty, but Xun Pengcheng was a famous scholar in Ming Dynasty. He didn't get a part-time job here, and the identity of this Haihan national is really not glorious at all.If he hadn't received a windfall recently, which allowed him to finally get rid of his financial embarrassment, he really didn't want to answer Wang Hao's question.

"To be honest, Brother Wang, I have been in Sanya for two years, and I have indeed become a Haihan naturalized." Xun Pengcheng finally confessed frankly that although he is not successful in his career, at least he is relatively rich among the Haihan citizens. It's over, it's just that this status and status have to get used to it slowly.

"So that's the case. There are still many things to do later. I need to ask Brother Xun to clear up my doubts." Wang Hao did not ask about Xun Pengcheng's personal situation, but shifted the topic to Sanya's prosperity.

Most people who are new to Sanya will be attracted by the bustling port, the prosperous urban area without city defense, the buildings with different styles from all over the world, and the wide and flat roads. Wang Hao is no exception. Everything seemed very novel.As someone who has been there, Xun Pengcheng can actually understand Wang Hao's feelings. When he first arrived in Sanya, he was also in the same state as a countryman entering the city.And the way Wang Hao looked around at the moment finally gave him a little sense of pride in his identity as a Haihan citizen.

Xun Pengcheng found a mid-range restaurant on Jingjing Boulevard. Although the decoration is not as luxurious as those high-end restaurants, the location is good. The seats on the fourth floor facing the street can almost have a panoramic view of the entire landscape building, which is very suitable for entertaining Wang. A newcomer like Hao.It wasn't the first time Xun Pengcheng came here to eat, but in the past, he came here for official entertainment of the newspaper, and he ate public funds, but now he ate himself.Of course, with Xun Pengcheng's wealth today, even if he comes here to eat every day, he won't have any financial pressure in the short term, so it's no problem to treat Wang Hao to a meal.

Xun Pengcheng felt at ease doing this, so he took the initiative to take the menu, ordered a few signature dishes with ease, and then ordered a bottle of Sanya special wine.Seeing this, Wang Hao asked: "It seems that brother Xun is a regular visitor here, and he is really developed to settle in Haihan!"

"How can there be any development? Brother Wang is joking, normal level, normal level!" Xun Pengcheng replied with a smile.The two of them will spend about three to forty yuan for this meal, which is almost three or forty taels in silver at the current official exchange rate. It is really not cheap, and it is certainly not something that ordinary people can afford on a daily basis. level.

Of course, this Wang Hao is not a low-level crowd who has never seen the world. Since he took the initiative to invite him to eat in this kind of restaurant, it is not difficult to guess Xun Pengcheng's living standard.However, if he had met Xun Pengcheng half a month earlier, he might not have eaten today's meal. At that time, Xun Pengcheng was still racking his brains for the 20 yuan and [-] yuan bonus for the front page article, so how could he be willing to pay for such a reward? Local hospitality.

Wang Hao naturally asked about Xun Pengcheng's current livelihood, but of course Xun Pengcheng would not say that his last job was a tabloid reporter, so he casually said: "Do what you want to make money, and I plan to go out by boat recently. , find a suitable place to set up a plantation...do you know the plantation?"

Wang Hao nodded and said: "I have heard a little bit about it. I heard that there are quite a few businessmen from Daming who came to Haihan to set up plantations. It seems that it is a very profitable business."

"It's not very profitable, but the long-term harvest of the plantation is very stable, and it is indeed a good business." Xun Pengcheng has been in Haihan for so long, so he has naturally tried to understand the various profitable businesses in the Haihan market. I have had various ideas about the opportunity to make a fortune.After accepting the money from Matalan people, he didn't intend to sit still, but he was not good at business, so he could think of a less risky and easy-to-manage business, of course, a plantation.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Haihan has a variety of packaged management projects, from site selection and project selection to recruiting people for reclamation, planting and harvesting, and provides one-stop services. The owner only needs to pay in the early stage, and the subsequent operations can be completely handed over to the Ministry of Agriculture. , even a layman who doesn't know anything about farming can still run a plantation.For a nouveau riche like Xun Pengcheng, the plantation is an excellent investment project. If he is willing to learn agricultural technology and management skills, he can take back the plantation and take care of it by himself after a year or two, and the income can be increased. Take it up a notch.

In recent years, more and more businessmen came to Haihan from Daming to look for investment projects, and some even came from the distant Central Plains.The reason why these businessmen want to invest in Haihan is not just to make money. Because the peasant army in the Ming Dynasty has been fighting for years, some big families in the inland areas are also trying to transfer part of their assets to safer areas.When they came to the coastal area with relatively stable law and order and heard all kinds of rumors about Haihan, they naturally wanted to send people to investigate here to see if the country of Haihan was really an investment paradise like the legends.

Seeing that Wang Hao seemed to be interested in the topic of the plantation, Xun Pengcheng suspected that the purpose of his coming to Sanya was also to inspect the plantation, so he took the initiative to say: "If Brother Wang is interested in this business, why don't you come with me and go through the business together?" I went to Danzhou and Haikou for a few days to see, and I heard that the land price there is much cheaper than that in the south, and the price of [-] mu of land in the south can get more than ten or twenty mu of land there.”

Wang Hao smiled and said: "If you want to talk about land prices, then I would advise you to visit Xuwen County across the strait. There are also many sugarcane plantations jointly operated by Haihan and local gentry. It’s also much cheaper.”

Xun Pengcheng shook his head and said: "That is the territory of Ming Dynasty. Although it is peaceful now, who knows what will happen in ten or twenty years, whether there will be war... After all, it is not safe. It is better to invest in Haihan. Wonderful, no country around the South China Sea dares to provoke me, Hai Han Country."

Wang Hao's face froze for a moment, and then he smiled again: "Brother Xun is right, but the purpose of coming to Sanya this time is not for the plantation, but for other important things."

Xun Pengcheng was waiting to be asked, and Xiao Er had already started serving dishes, so Xun Pengcheng put down the conversation first, said a few words of congratulations, and then poured wine and toasted Wang Hao.After the two drank for three rounds, Xun Pengcheng brought up the incident just now and asked Wang Hao why he came to Sanya.

"Business." Wang Hao put down his chopsticks, cupped his hands to the north, and said, "I'll tell you the truth, brother Xun, I'm working for the imperial court now..."

Xun Pengcheng took a deep breath, and immediately began to regret why he invited Wang Hao to dinner today.When this guy appeared at the pier, he didn't have any ceremonial guards around him. He obviously didn't visit Sanya openly as an official of the Ming Dynasty, but most of the officials of the Ming Dynasty who came to Sanya under cover were spies sent by secret agencies such as Jinyiwei and Dongchang. up.Every year in Sanya, many spies from the Ming Dynasty are captured, but they still cannot stop the spies from all walks of life who have come to Haihan one after another.Xun Pengcheng had access to some sensitive information in his past work, and he had heard a little about these underground struggles, so he kept silent about the existence of the Ministry of Security.Now that the matter of the horse beating the blue man was finally settled, and he met Wang Hao again, Xun Pengcheng really doubted whether his fortune must be ups and downs.

Xun Pengcheng's desire to survive was quite strong, and he didn't intend to listen to Wang Hao's continuation at all, so he immediately put down his chopsticks and frowned and said, "I suddenly remembered that I still have an appointment with someone today, and if I don't go, I'm afraid I'll miss a big deal. Brother Wang, this meal I will invite you, take your time, I will go first!"

"Brother Xun wait a minute, listen to me first!" Wang Hao seemed to have seen through Xun Pengcheng's mind, and quickly got up and held Xun Pengcheng down.

"Brother Xun, do you think that I came to Sanya so quietly to be a spy for the imperial court?" Wang Hao said while picking up the jug and refilling the cup in front of Xun Pengcheng.

Xun Pengcheng said: "I'm just a grassroots person, and I don't have access to any major national affairs. I'm afraid I won't be able to help Brother Wang." Although he didn't say it clearly, he admitted Wang Hao's guess in disguise.

Wang Hao shook his head and said, "Brother Xun misunderstood. The official business I'm talking about is not a sneaky thing, but a major national event! Brother Xun should know about the establishment of diplomatic relations between Daming and Haihan, right?"

Xun Pengcheng nodded and said that he knew that this matter had been announced by the Executive Committee more than a month ago, but so far, it has not had any direct impact on Sanya's daily life.The vast majority of Haihan citizens, including Xun Pengcheng, did not feel that the formal establishment of the two countries had brought them any benefits or disadvantages.It will take some time for this kind of change in international politics before its follow-up effects will gradually appear among the people.

Wang Hao continued: "Since the imperial court has decided to establish diplomatic relations with Haihan, it must send envoys to stay in Haihan. This Sanya is the capital of Haihan. In the future, the envoys of the imperial court will of course come over. live here."

Xun Pengcheng still didn't quite understand what Wang Hao meant, so he just nodded subconsciously, but he was secretly vigilant in his heart. If Wang Hao dared to mention things like collecting information, he would run away immediately, and if he couldn't do it, he would shout for help—— There are always patrolmen on the street.

Then I heard Wang Hao say: "I just received an errand and came to Sanya to choose a suitable place to build an embassy for Daming. Since Brother Xun has been here for a long time, he must be familiar with the local situation. Now, I wonder if I can give you some advice on this matter? Of course, I won’t let Brother Xun be busy in vain, and there will be rewards afterwards.”

"Embassy? Daming embassy?" Hearing this explanation, Xun Pengcheng felt rather complicated for a while.

He has been a reporter in Sanya for such a long time, almost traveled all over the city, of course he knows where the embassy is.However, in the past, there were only embassies in Annan, Champa, the Netherlands, Portugal and other countries in the local area, but there was no official institution sent by the Ming Dynasty at all.As for the signboards of Yulin Inspection Department and Yacheng Navy in Shengli Port, Xun Pengcheng would not regard them as the existence of Ming Dynasty.But now that he heard that Ming Dynasty was going to set up an embassy in Sanya, it was the first time that Xun Pengcheng really felt the changes brought about by the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Now that the two countries have established diplomatic relations, it is reasonable to establish an embassy. However, Xun Pengcheng still has some doubts about Wang Hao's appearance. They have already established diplomatic relations publicly. Does the establishment of an embassy need to be so low-key?
(End of this chapter)