Chapter 1615
Extravagant Hope
Chapter 1615 Extravagant Hope
The means of buying Ming officials are nothing more than the old routines of coercion and temptation plus favors. Haihan has summed up many effective methods in the process of dealing with Ming officials for a long time. There are corresponding routines.Zhang Qianzhi thought that Fei Cexian should be a prudent official after simple contacts, and would not easily accept the benefits offered by Haihan. However, if he could transfer the benefits covertly and safely, this person might not be able to resist The temptation of sugar-coated cannonballs.
Therefore, during the visit to the Shengli Port business district, Zhang Qianzhi kept introducing the local trade situation, and hinted to Fei Cexian from time to time that behind the bustling scene in Sanya, quite a few Ming officials participated and benefited from it.Although this method is unlikely to achieve immediate results, Zhang Qianzhi is convinced that it will certainly have an impact on Fei Cexian's values under the subtle influence.No one is perfect, no matter how firm the political stance of the Ming envoy from the capital is, he will definitely have what he needs. What Haihan needs to do is to give targeted conditions and let him gradually compromise, and finally Unify pace and position with Haihan.
It's not that Fei Cexian is completely unmoved, it's just that he is new here, and he is not sure whether some of what Zhang Qianzhi said is true or not, and there is a certain degree of credibility, so naturally he dare not express his opinion lightly, and he is even afraid to strike up a conversation. Not too dare.After all, he is not sure whether this Qianzhi is a real tour guide or has another, more sensitive identity. If he says something wrong, he may become a target.
Zhang Qianzhi's vision is very accurate. Being cautious and making no big mistakes is one of Fei Cexian's life creeds. Especially when he came to Haihan Kingdom, where the relationship with Daming is extremely delicate, he is always careful, saying less and more See, lest you make a mistake.How could he not hear Zhang Qianzhi's hint, but this kind of petty gain must not be greedy, otherwise the follow-up troubles may be endless, and they will fall into Haihan's control like the local officials in Fuzhou and Guangzhou.
Fei Cexian came to Haihan with a heart of serving the country. At least so far, making a fortune in Haihan is not one of his goals.He hopes to win more benefits for Daming at the negotiating table, instead of using his status as an envoy to enrich his own pockets and gain benefits for himself.Before he set off from the capital, he had already received a promise that if he could take back the coastal areas actually controlled by Haihan for Daming during his term of office, then the imperial court would definitely reward him for his merits, not to mention the promotion of Sizheng. The Minister of Rites also has a chance.
Fei Cexian is only 38 now, and the ambassador to Haihan who has been in office for three to five years is only in his 40s. If he can be appointed as the Minister of Rites at this age, the chances of continuing to go up in the future are quite high.However, if you give up your principles for the sake of some petty profits in front of you, it is tantamount to giving up your seemingly promising career prospects, which is not worthwhile in Fei Cexian's view.Putting money and career together, Fei Cexian still prefers to choose the latter as his goal.Sanya may indeed be a place where luxury and money are sold, but Fei Cexian doesn't have too high requirements for material things—at least for the time being.
Zhang Qianzhi just took Fei Cexian to stroll around the shops in the side roads on the landscape avenue, and more than two hours have passed.Zhang Qianzhi saw that the time was almost up, and reminded Fei Cexian to go back to the guest house first, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should send a special car to pick him up later to go to Victory Fort for the banquet.
Fei Cexian also knows that the business is important. Although this bustling city makes people linger, but he will be stationed in Hainan Island in the future, and he will have time to stroll slowly, but he is not in a hurry.Immediately turn back to the north, return to the place where you get off at Victory Square, and return to the Guest House by car.
Sure enough, not long after returning to his residence, Ning Qi came to the door on behalf of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite him to the Fort of Victory for a banquet.At this time, Fei Cexian had already changed out of the casual clothes he was wearing just now, and put on his own official uniform. Since he was meeting with a high-ranking official of the Haihan Kingdom, he had to act like a Ming envoy.Even if he didn't intend to use the diplomatic guard of honor here, he still had to show his identity.
Fort Victory, a place full of mystery, Ming's intelligence agencies have also spent a lot of time collecting relevant information, but what they have grasped is only some superficial things, such as how large the area is, how high the city wall is, and how the city defense works are. However, there was very little valuable information about the interior of Fort Victory, especially the operation of the Executive Committee.Although other officials of the Ming Dynasty entered the Fort of Victory long before this, the court did not receive any detailed rewards. From this, it can be seen that all officials of the Ming Dynasty who have entered this place in the past were basically recruited by Haihan object.
After the completion of Victory Fort, there has been no large-scale expansion, but with the improvement of various departments and institutions, there is no room for the small fortress, and there are too many naturalized people coming in and out every day, which is not conducive to safety. .Therefore, in recent years, the offices of these institutions have been gradually moved out of the fort and arranged in the surrounding areas of Victory Square.And the traversers who work in state agencies have long since ceased to live in the fort, and most of the time they go home after work.
In today's Victory Fort, apart from a few important institutions such as the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, there is also a big data center that is regarded as a core secret by the Executive Committee.In addition, the arsenal and temporary residences are still kept in the fort. When an emergency occurs, Victory Fort is still the safest place in the entire Haihan Kingdom.
Fei Cexian has also heard that the buildings in the Fort of Victory are extremely simple, and there is no magnificent palace built like the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty. The size of the land is indeed inconvenient to build too large buildings.Entering Victory Fort, as far as the eye can see, there are small gray brick buildings. Although the environment is clean and quiet, it is too shabby as the center of a powerful country.Not to mention comparing it with the Forbidden City, even the dozen or so palaces scattered throughout the Ming Dynasty are much more upscale than this Fort of Victory.
"Lord Fei seems a little disappointed in Victory Fort!" Ning Qi brought Fei Cexian into Victory Fort, and he could guess what he was thinking by looking at his expression.
Fei Cexian quickly responded: "Master Ning misunderstood, I just lamented that your country is so rich, but this core place is so simple, the contrast is too great."
Ning Qi explained: "Victory Fort is actually more meaningful as a landmark. The outside world thinks this is the core area of Haihan Kingdom, but in fact it is just an office space, which is different from the concept of your country's imperial city. It is usually used for holding meetings and discussing state affairs. There is no need to make this place too luxurious. After a long time, we people have also gotten used to this environment. It is estimated that Victory Fort will still be like this in ten or eight years. will change."
What Ning Qi said was not a matter of appearances. It would not be difficult for Haihan to build another space dedicated to office now, but the vast majority of people, including the executive committee, think that there is no need for this at all, after all Most of the departments and agencies have moved out of Fort Victory to have independent offices.Since Fort Victory can still perform its functions well, there is no need to add more things to the snake.
Of course, there is another reason that cannot be ignored, that is, if some facilities in Fort Victory are to be relocated, it will be very troublesome.Both the data center and the communication center are located in Fort Victory. These two departments are involved in the existence of the whole body, and may even affect the operation and government affairs of Haihan Kingdom in the short term.The Executive Committee didn't want to ask for trouble, so it simply continued to use Victory Fort as the center of power.
Hosting a banquet in the Fort of Victory is already regarded as Haihan's very high courtesy to foreign guests. Although Fei Cexian is only an official from the seventh rank, because he came on behalf of Ming Dynasty, Haihan still gave it to him. Enough attention, just for this welcome banquet, the executive committee has Ning Qi, Schneider, and Yan Chujie in attendance.Originally, Tao Donglai would also participate, but because of some problems with the munitions production line in Tiandu Industrial Zone, he and Bai Kesi had to go to the scene to deal with it, so they had to miss the first meeting with the Ming envoy.
However, for Fei Cexian, this kind of treatment has far exceeded his expectations. Senior Haihan officials in charge of diplomacy, business, and military attended the reception banquet together, which made him feel a little flustered.This at least shows that Hai Han pays enough attention to his arrival and will not dismiss him casually.
Of course, in such a diplomatic occasion where they meet for the first time, it is unlikely to discuss sensitive topics between the two countries. Both sides tacitly did not actively mention territorial disputes, population movements, and military assistance, which require negotiation and consultation. , just chatting casually about the various customs and customs that Fei Cexian experienced on the way to Haihan.For those truly important controversial topics, there will be follow-up long negotiations for the two sides to discuss slowly. At that time, each side will have a position, and there may not be the current relaxed and happy atmosphere of communication.
The banquet dishes are the standard "Haihan style", which pays attention to the freshness of the ingredients and the use of various spices and seasonings. For Fei Cexian, who has been in Haihan for several days, it is actually not a new experience. .But Fei Cexian also had to admit that the banquet arranged in Victory Fort is indeed more particular. Although he is not really a qualified foodie, he can feel that it is at least better than the banquet he had in Haikou City before. It's more than one notch higher.
While chatting with the three high-ranking Haihan officials, Fei Cexian was also paying attention to the behavior of the three.Ning Qi spoke politely, no doubt a typical civil servant; Yan Chujie had a calm demeanor, with a military-specific stern air; Schneider was shrewd everywhere, worthy of being an official in charge of commercial affairs.What surprised Fei Cexian the most was that Schneider's appearance was obviously different from that of the Han people, but his speech was no different from that of the Han people. The whole person was quite different.
However, all three of them have one thing in common, that is, the aura of a superior person. This kind of thing cannot be faked. Only those who have been in high positions for a long time can slowly develop this invisible trait.Fei Cexian has lived in the capital for a long time, and has met many high-ranking officials of the imperial court, so he has a deep understanding of this. The three high-ranking Haihan officials in front of him are indeed top choices in terms of conversation and temperament, and Fei Cexian can feel their eyes Their knowledge is even higher than those of the great scholars in the imperial court, because their understanding of the Ming Dynasty's national conditions revealed in their chats is no less than that of the big figures in the Ming Dynasty.Even the progress of the Central Plains Peasant Army rebellion, these people are well aware of.
The only reasonable explanation that Fei Cexian could think of was that Haihan had a large number of sources of intelligence in Daming territory, and the reliability of the information was quite high, and it was very likely that it did not come from the people.Reminiscent of Haihan's influence in the southeast coastal area, Fei Cexian thought that perhaps some high-ranking officials in the imperial court had secret contacts with Haihan, otherwise why would they know so many secret things?
In fact, most of the information that Haihan has comes from the records in the large database, and these contents are almost all original historical facts, which will naturally shock Fei Cexian, who does not know the inside story.The Northern Central Plains region is not obviously affected by Haihan at present, so it is still developing according to the original historical trend. When Ning Qi and others talked about this field, they naturally spoke clearly.
During the dinner, Ning Qi and the others did not persuade Fei Cexian to drink more, but Fei Cexian took the initiative to toast the three of them frequently.Speaking of which, the reception lineup is considered beyond the standard. Although he is a guest from afar, his level is much lower than that of the host, so he can only lower his posture a little to gain more initiative.
"When Mr. Fei settles down, you can go to see the embassy site we arranged and think about the location at a convenient time." When the banquet was coming to an end, Ning Qi finally took the initiative to mention the business.Of course, the "site selection" he mentioned did not mean that Fei Cexian should choose a place in Sanya himself, but choose a place between Sanya and Haikou as the embassy of Ming Dynasty.
Fei Cexian quickly responded: "Master Lao Ning, I just need to rest for one night, and I can handle this matter tomorrow."
For Fei Cexian, the sooner the embassy is built, the better. Only when the embassy is completed can it show Ming's attitude to the outside world, and the subsequent diplomatic consultations and exchanges with Haihan will be justified.Moreover, after wandering around the Shengli Port business district for an afternoon today, he already had some calculations in his mind. Although Haikou is close to Daming, it is indeed far from Sanya in terms of prosperity, and it is closer to Haihan's power center. There are also more sources of information about Haihan. If you want to grasp the latest trends of Haihan, it is the most sensible choice to set up the embassy in Sanya.
After the banquet was over, Fei Cexian said goodbye and left, and returned to the guest house in a special carriage.He carefully recalled his previous performance at the banquet, and felt that there was nothing missing, so he rested in peace of mind.
(End of this chapter)
The means of buying Ming officials are nothing more than the old routines of coercion and temptation plus favors. Haihan has summed up many effective methods in the process of dealing with Ming officials for a long time. There are corresponding routines.Zhang Qianzhi thought that Fei Cexian should be a prudent official after simple contacts, and would not easily accept the benefits offered by Haihan. However, if he could transfer the benefits covertly and safely, this person might not be able to resist The temptation of sugar-coated cannonballs.
Therefore, during the visit to the Shengli Port business district, Zhang Qianzhi kept introducing the local trade situation, and hinted to Fei Cexian from time to time that behind the bustling scene in Sanya, quite a few Ming officials participated and benefited from it.Although this method is unlikely to achieve immediate results, Zhang Qianzhi is convinced that it will certainly have an impact on Fei Cexian's values under the subtle influence.No one is perfect, no matter how firm the political stance of the Ming envoy from the capital is, he will definitely have what he needs. What Haihan needs to do is to give targeted conditions and let him gradually compromise, and finally Unify pace and position with Haihan.
It's not that Fei Cexian is completely unmoved, it's just that he is new here, and he is not sure whether some of what Zhang Qianzhi said is true or not, and there is a certain degree of credibility, so naturally he dare not express his opinion lightly, and he is even afraid to strike up a conversation. Not too dare.After all, he is not sure whether this Qianzhi is a real tour guide or has another, more sensitive identity. If he says something wrong, he may become a target.
Zhang Qianzhi's vision is very accurate. Being cautious and making no big mistakes is one of Fei Cexian's life creeds. Especially when he came to Haihan Kingdom, where the relationship with Daming is extremely delicate, he is always careful, saying less and more See, lest you make a mistake.How could he not hear Zhang Qianzhi's hint, but this kind of petty gain must not be greedy, otherwise the follow-up troubles may be endless, and they will fall into Haihan's control like the local officials in Fuzhou and Guangzhou.
Fei Cexian came to Haihan with a heart of serving the country. At least so far, making a fortune in Haihan is not one of his goals.He hopes to win more benefits for Daming at the negotiating table, instead of using his status as an envoy to enrich his own pockets and gain benefits for himself.Before he set off from the capital, he had already received a promise that if he could take back the coastal areas actually controlled by Haihan for Daming during his term of office, then the imperial court would definitely reward him for his merits, not to mention the promotion of Sizheng. The Minister of Rites also has a chance.
Fei Cexian is only 38 now, and the ambassador to Haihan who has been in office for three to five years is only in his 40s. If he can be appointed as the Minister of Rites at this age, the chances of continuing to go up in the future are quite high.However, if you give up your principles for the sake of some petty profits in front of you, it is tantamount to giving up your seemingly promising career prospects, which is not worthwhile in Fei Cexian's view.Putting money and career together, Fei Cexian still prefers to choose the latter as his goal.Sanya may indeed be a place where luxury and money are sold, but Fei Cexian doesn't have too high requirements for material things—at least for the time being.
Zhang Qianzhi just took Fei Cexian to stroll around the shops in the side roads on the landscape avenue, and more than two hours have passed.Zhang Qianzhi saw that the time was almost up, and reminded Fei Cexian to go back to the guest house first, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should send a special car to pick him up later to go to Victory Fort for the banquet.
Fei Cexian also knows that the business is important. Although this bustling city makes people linger, but he will be stationed in Hainan Island in the future, and he will have time to stroll slowly, but he is not in a hurry.Immediately turn back to the north, return to the place where you get off at Victory Square, and return to the Guest House by car.
Sure enough, not long after returning to his residence, Ning Qi came to the door on behalf of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite him to the Fort of Victory for a banquet.At this time, Fei Cexian had already changed out of the casual clothes he was wearing just now, and put on his own official uniform. Since he was meeting with a high-ranking official of the Haihan Kingdom, he had to act like a Ming envoy.Even if he didn't intend to use the diplomatic guard of honor here, he still had to show his identity.
Fort Victory, a place full of mystery, Ming's intelligence agencies have also spent a lot of time collecting relevant information, but what they have grasped is only some superficial things, such as how large the area is, how high the city wall is, and how the city defense works are. However, there was very little valuable information about the interior of Fort Victory, especially the operation of the Executive Committee.Although other officials of the Ming Dynasty entered the Fort of Victory long before this, the court did not receive any detailed rewards. From this, it can be seen that all officials of the Ming Dynasty who have entered this place in the past were basically recruited by Haihan object.
After the completion of Victory Fort, there has been no large-scale expansion, but with the improvement of various departments and institutions, there is no room for the small fortress, and there are too many naturalized people coming in and out every day, which is not conducive to safety. .Therefore, in recent years, the offices of these institutions have been gradually moved out of the fort and arranged in the surrounding areas of Victory Square.And the traversers who work in state agencies have long since ceased to live in the fort, and most of the time they go home after work.
In today's Victory Fort, apart from a few important institutions such as the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, there is also a big data center that is regarded as a core secret by the Executive Committee.In addition, the arsenal and temporary residences are still kept in the fort. When an emergency occurs, Victory Fort is still the safest place in the entire Haihan Kingdom.
Fei Cexian has also heard that the buildings in the Fort of Victory are extremely simple, and there is no magnificent palace built like the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty. The size of the land is indeed inconvenient to build too large buildings.Entering Victory Fort, as far as the eye can see, there are small gray brick buildings. Although the environment is clean and quiet, it is too shabby as the center of a powerful country.Not to mention comparing it with the Forbidden City, even the dozen or so palaces scattered throughout the Ming Dynasty are much more upscale than this Fort of Victory.
"Lord Fei seems a little disappointed in Victory Fort!" Ning Qi brought Fei Cexian into Victory Fort, and he could guess what he was thinking by looking at his expression.
Fei Cexian quickly responded: "Master Ning misunderstood, I just lamented that your country is so rich, but this core place is so simple, the contrast is too great."
Ning Qi explained: "Victory Fort is actually more meaningful as a landmark. The outside world thinks this is the core area of Haihan Kingdom, but in fact it is just an office space, which is different from the concept of your country's imperial city. It is usually used for holding meetings and discussing state affairs. There is no need to make this place too luxurious. After a long time, we people have also gotten used to this environment. It is estimated that Victory Fort will still be like this in ten or eight years. will change."
What Ning Qi said was not a matter of appearances. It would not be difficult for Haihan to build another space dedicated to office now, but the vast majority of people, including the executive committee, think that there is no need for this at all, after all Most of the departments and agencies have moved out of Fort Victory to have independent offices.Since Fort Victory can still perform its functions well, there is no need to add more things to the snake.
Of course, there is another reason that cannot be ignored, that is, if some facilities in Fort Victory are to be relocated, it will be very troublesome.Both the data center and the communication center are located in Fort Victory. These two departments are involved in the existence of the whole body, and may even affect the operation and government affairs of Haihan Kingdom in the short term.The Executive Committee didn't want to ask for trouble, so it simply continued to use Victory Fort as the center of power.
Hosting a banquet in the Fort of Victory is already regarded as Haihan's very high courtesy to foreign guests. Although Fei Cexian is only an official from the seventh rank, because he came on behalf of Ming Dynasty, Haihan still gave it to him. Enough attention, just for this welcome banquet, the executive committee has Ning Qi, Schneider, and Yan Chujie in attendance.Originally, Tao Donglai would also participate, but because of some problems with the munitions production line in Tiandu Industrial Zone, he and Bai Kesi had to go to the scene to deal with it, so they had to miss the first meeting with the Ming envoy.
However, for Fei Cexian, this kind of treatment has far exceeded his expectations. Senior Haihan officials in charge of diplomacy, business, and military attended the reception banquet together, which made him feel a little flustered.This at least shows that Hai Han pays enough attention to his arrival and will not dismiss him casually.
Of course, in such a diplomatic occasion where they meet for the first time, it is unlikely to discuss sensitive topics between the two countries. Both sides tacitly did not actively mention territorial disputes, population movements, and military assistance, which require negotiation and consultation. , just chatting casually about the various customs and customs that Fei Cexian experienced on the way to Haihan.For those truly important controversial topics, there will be follow-up long negotiations for the two sides to discuss slowly. At that time, each side will have a position, and there may not be the current relaxed and happy atmosphere of communication.
The banquet dishes are the standard "Haihan style", which pays attention to the freshness of the ingredients and the use of various spices and seasonings. For Fei Cexian, who has been in Haihan for several days, it is actually not a new experience. .But Fei Cexian also had to admit that the banquet arranged in Victory Fort is indeed more particular. Although he is not really a qualified foodie, he can feel that it is at least better than the banquet he had in Haikou City before. It's more than one notch higher.
While chatting with the three high-ranking Haihan officials, Fei Cexian was also paying attention to the behavior of the three.Ning Qi spoke politely, no doubt a typical civil servant; Yan Chujie had a calm demeanor, with a military-specific stern air; Schneider was shrewd everywhere, worthy of being an official in charge of commercial affairs.What surprised Fei Cexian the most was that Schneider's appearance was obviously different from that of the Han people, but his speech was no different from that of the Han people. The whole person was quite different.
However, all three of them have one thing in common, that is, the aura of a superior person. This kind of thing cannot be faked. Only those who have been in high positions for a long time can slowly develop this invisible trait.Fei Cexian has lived in the capital for a long time, and has met many high-ranking officials of the imperial court, so he has a deep understanding of this. The three high-ranking Haihan officials in front of him are indeed top choices in terms of conversation and temperament, and Fei Cexian can feel their eyes Their knowledge is even higher than those of the great scholars in the imperial court, because their understanding of the Ming Dynasty's national conditions revealed in their chats is no less than that of the big figures in the Ming Dynasty.Even the progress of the Central Plains Peasant Army rebellion, these people are well aware of.
The only reasonable explanation that Fei Cexian could think of was that Haihan had a large number of sources of intelligence in Daming territory, and the reliability of the information was quite high, and it was very likely that it did not come from the people.Reminiscent of Haihan's influence in the southeast coastal area, Fei Cexian thought that perhaps some high-ranking officials in the imperial court had secret contacts with Haihan, otherwise why would they know so many secret things?
In fact, most of the information that Haihan has comes from the records in the large database, and these contents are almost all original historical facts, which will naturally shock Fei Cexian, who does not know the inside story.The Northern Central Plains region is not obviously affected by Haihan at present, so it is still developing according to the original historical trend. When Ning Qi and others talked about this field, they naturally spoke clearly.
During the dinner, Ning Qi and the others did not persuade Fei Cexian to drink more, but Fei Cexian took the initiative to toast the three of them frequently.Speaking of which, the reception lineup is considered beyond the standard. Although he is a guest from afar, his level is much lower than that of the host, so he can only lower his posture a little to gain more initiative.
"When Mr. Fei settles down, you can go to see the embassy site we arranged and think about the location at a convenient time." When the banquet was coming to an end, Ning Qi finally took the initiative to mention the business.Of course, the "site selection" he mentioned did not mean that Fei Cexian should choose a place in Sanya himself, but choose a place between Sanya and Haikou as the embassy of Ming Dynasty.
Fei Cexian quickly responded: "Master Lao Ning, I just need to rest for one night, and I can handle this matter tomorrow."
For Fei Cexian, the sooner the embassy is built, the better. Only when the embassy is completed can it show Ming's attitude to the outside world, and the subsequent diplomatic consultations and exchanges with Haihan will be justified.Moreover, after wandering around the Shengli Port business district for an afternoon today, he already had some calculations in his mind. Although Haikou is close to Daming, it is indeed far from Sanya in terms of prosperity, and it is closer to Haihan's power center. There are also more sources of information about Haihan. If you want to grasp the latest trends of Haihan, it is the most sensible choice to set up the embassy in Sanya.
After the banquet was over, Fei Cexian said goodbye and left, and returned to the guest house in a special carriage.He carefully recalled his previous performance at the banquet, and felt that there was nothing missing, so he rested in peace of mind.
(End of this chapter)