Chapter 1872
Chapter 1872
Chapter 1872
There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.Even though there have been territorial disputes between Daming and Haihan for many years, this does not prevent local officials from gaining benefits from their contacts with Haihan.What's more, since last year, the two countries have reached a new agreement on diplomatic relations, and put aside disputes in some areas where the ownership is unclear, so as to avoid armed conflicts between the two countries.Of course, there is actually another secret reason, that is, Ming needs the support of Haihan on the northern front to resist the Qing's offensive.
However, in the eyes of local officials in various coastal state capitals, the compromising attitude shown by the imperial court was more due to helplessness.Because there is a clearly visible gap between the armed forces of the two countries, it is impossible for Ming to regain the actual control of these areas through war.Moreover, the benefits brought about by this cross-border trade are too great, enough to make many officials give up their so-called principles.
After the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the local officials in Zhejiang finally understood why the powerful officials in Fuzhou and Guangxi in the south kept pretending to be deaf and dumb to Haihan's actions all the year round, because as long as they do nothing and do nothing, they will There will be a lot of money automatically poured into the pocket.Being a clay bodhisattva can bring you a lot of incense money and keep the safety of the area under your rule, so who would want to risk their wealth and life to fight Haihan to the death?
What's more, those who bravely tried to challenge Hai Han had never heard of anyone who caused any real trouble for Hai Han.People who used to make a lot of trouble disappeared from the officialdom without a sound.But other people who chose to compromise soon found that their lives were getting better and better, and the benefits that Haihan could give were even beyond their imagination.
Today, officials in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions no longer regard Haihan as a scourge, but regard him as a fat and fat God of Wealth.As for Haihan's small actions in the Zhoushan Islands and some coastal counties, as long as the money is in place, there is room for negotiation on everything.
Since last year, North Koreans have come to Zhoushan one after another. In the beginning, they were just businessmen, monks and literati who came to Zhoushan in the name of non-governmental exchanges. After confirming that the local government will not interfere with North Korea and Haihan Only after the exchanges between North Korea and North Korea did officials gradually move into the Zhoushan Dinghai Port operated by Haihan.Of course, these people will not declare that they are working for North Korean officials, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble, but in fact, the North Korean guild hall on the Zhoushan Port side is a semi-official embassy organization, and officials like Jin Sangjiu He handles all kinds of diplomatic affairs with Haihan and Daming in the guild hall.
However, Jin Shangjiu did not come to Zhoushan with this group of North Korean students studying abroad. He actually left Seoul half a month earlier than them, and went to Zhoushan in advance to prepare for the reception of this group of overseas students—of course, the main task of this work The target is the eldest son Li Mo, and others are not qualified to let him, the new Li Cao, run errands.
Because during the Anti-Qing War, he accomplished the diplomatic mission very well, and led the Haihan Fleet to successfully stop the Qing army in the Yalu River. With this credit, Jin Shangjiu was promoted from the original fifth-rank Li Cao Zhenglang to the third-rank. Li Cao's counselor will be regarded as a figure with a place in the court in the future.
Jin Shangjiu did not get carried away because of his promotion. He knew very well where his credit came from, and he knew that if he left Haihan as his backer and returned to Seoul to sit in the yamen, his future career would have to go back to same as usual.If you still want to go up, you have to continue to maintain close contacts with Haihan, so as to win more opportunities to do meritorious deeds.
Therefore, although Jin Shangjiu is already a high-ranking official of the third rank, he still has not given up his original job in Zhoushan.It just so happened that the country was going to send a group of students including the son to study in Haihan, so Jin Shangjiu took the initiative to take over the task and returned to Zhoushan.In terms of familiarity with this place, no one in North Korea can match, and this reception task is really none other than him.
In fact, Jin Shangjiu didn't know how long Li Mo would stay in Zhoushan, maybe just one night, maybe ten days and a half months, and he didn't dare to inquire about such sensitive information related to safety in advance.But as a courtier, he must first make preparations for his son to live in Zhoushan for a long time.
Although the guild hall built by North Korea in Dinghai Port is not as large as the embassy in Sanya, considering that this is one of the main overseas offices of North Korean officials, the guild hall still has plans for receiving important people.After Jin Shangjiu came over, he ordered to adjust the layout of the guild hall according to the plan, and vacated one of the courtyards as the residence of the eldest son Li Mo after he arrived in Zhoushan.
After the fleet from Seoul docked at Shengshan Island, they sent a telegram to Dinghai Port to report their itinerary. Jin Shangjiu also received a notification from the Haihan official that the fleet that Shi Zi belonged to would arrive at Dinghai Port the next day.
Although Haihan's garrison in North Korea did not send high-ranking officials to escort Li Min and his party, Shi Diwen personally greeted them in Zhoushan.Therefore, Jin Shangjiu had to be careful about this matter, and he couldn't act like an outlier and steal Shi Diwen's limelight.
Early the next morning, the fleet set off from Shengshan Island, passed by the west side of Qushan Island and Daishan Island, and then saw Zhoushan Island on the south sea.The fleet passed through the waterway between Jintang Island and Zhoushan Island, and then turned to the east, and there is Dinghaigang Bay surrounded by a lot of small islands.And the busyness of the maritime shipping here also made the North Korean trainees who had all flocked to the deck to see the scenery greatly admired.
Xie Li also boarded Li Mo's boat today and introduced the basic situation of Dinghai Port to him: "My lord, please see that the high place called Xiaozhu Mountain protruding from the middle of the bay in front is used as the dividing line, which divides the bay into three parts. There are two parts, east and west. The east is a civil and commercial port, where most of the trade between our country and Jiangsu and Zhejiang is completed. The west is a military port, where the East my country Sea Fleet is stationed. But before the East China Sea Fleet All of the main ships have already gone north to your country to help in the battle, so there are only a dozen combat ships stationed here at present."
Li Luo thought to himself that it would be difficult for ten or so warships to defend the vast East China Sea, but thinking about it, the Daming Navy here is said to not even leave Hangzhou Bay, so how can there be any opponents in the entire East China Sea? Threatening Haihan.Armed pirates?The coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been completely wiped out by Haihan in the past few years, and all the surviving pirate leaders have changed their appearances and joined Haihan's camp.
Xie Li went on to say: "Dinghai Port's port facilities have completed two expansions, and the third phase of the expansion project is also in progress. After completion, it will become the largest trading port in the entire East China Sea."
Li Luo couldn't help asking curiously: "I heard that Sanya is known as the first port in the South China Sea, so how does this Ding seaport compare to Sanya?"
This question made Xie Li think for a while before answering: "If it is compared to the trade volume, Sanya is of course bigger, but Zhoushan Port has more room for expansion. In another ten or twenty years, the situation may change. It's hard to say."
Xie Li's answer is quite objective. Although Sanya is prosperous, the two harbors of Shengli Harbor and Sanya Harbor have limited space. If they want to expand, they can only continue to build piers on the upper reaches of the Sanya River and Linchun River. It is not suitable as a harbor expansion project.In addition, Sanya is indeed a little far away from the main trading partner of Ming Dynasty, which is far less convenient than Hong Kong, Penghu, and Zhoushan, which are closer to the mainland. Zhoushan has caught up with the rapid development speed in just a few years. If If we can maintain this momentum, it is really possible to catch up with and surpass Sanya in a few years.
Li Luo asked: "I would venture to ask, under the rule of Haihan, are there many ports of the size of Ruding Seaport?"
Xie Li is a real person, and replied honestly: "Dinghai Port is the largest here in Zhejiang, and there is Shipu Port two hundred miles to the south. But further south, Jilong Port, Magong Port, and Kaohsiung Port in the Fujian Strait Hong Kong, Hong Kong at the mouth of the Pearl River is also a large-scale port. As for the South China Sea, there are six or seven ports of similar size. Speaking of ports, the Manila port that our country defeated the Spaniards in the South my country Sea this year is said to be It was the number one port in the South China Sea before Sanya, and now the number one port in the South China Sea is a port of our country!"
In fact, the bottom of this ranking is still the port of Haihan. If Batavia Port on Java Island hadn’t encountered wars in the past few years, almost destroying most of the city, it could barely squeeze into the top few, but now it’s gone. It is not what it used to be, and after the emergence of Shanghai Han, it took away a lot of trade shares from the Dutch, and it can no longer be ranked among the top trading ports in the South China Sea.
Li Lu sighed: "Controlling so many major commercial ports, it's no wonder your country is so rich!"
During the speech, the fleet had already been guided to the shore. Due to the special status of the passengers on board and the escort of warships, these ships all docked at the military port.And Li Lu was able to observe the Haihan warships docked on the shore at close range again. He even noticed that there is a shipyard in the direction of Xiaozhushan, and there are several large and small shipyards under construction. sea ship.
After the ship docked, even if there were staff members on the wharf, they boarded the ship first to confirm the conditions of the passengers, especially the condition of the eldest son Li Wei, so as to ensure that the next meeting between the leaders of the two parties could proceed smoothly.
"The main reason is that you are in poor health. This has happened before. Some distinguished guests were unable to move due to severe seasickness. In the end, they had to be carried off the boat on a stretcher." Xie Li was afraid that Li Luo might misunderstand, so he asked He explained the purpose of this session.
Li Luo expressed his understanding of this. In fact, such a situation is not uncommon in diplomatic occasions. Before his father and king want to meet with foreign envoys, the Li Cao Yamen will first send someone to confirm with the other party.In fact, he is not completely free from seasickness, but after resting on Shengshan Island last night, he has recovered more than half of his body. At this time, his physical and mental conditions are not bad, and he is even a little excited.
In order to show that they attached great importance to the arrival of the son of the Joseon Dynasty, the Zhoushan authorities even arranged a small welcome ceremony, and invited a music class to beat gongs and drums to create an atmosphere.This kind of slightly nondescript arrangement should be Haihan's unique welcome method in Li Wei's opinion. Although he was a little surprised, he didn't show it on his face.
Jin Shangjiu first boarded the boat to meet Li Mo, and then disembarked after closely following Li Mo, so that he could introduce to Li Mo the important people who came to welcome him at the pier at the first time.
Although Shi Diwen was the only high-ranking Haihan official present, almost all the chief officials of the main institutions of the Zhoushan government attended today's welcome ceremony, and there was a long line behind Shi Diwen.
After the two sides exchanged greetings, there was even a military parade.Jin Shangjiu introduced to Li Luo in a low voice: "This is a unique ceremony in Haihan, and it will only be arranged when high-ranking officials in Haihan meet with important foreign figures."
Hearing that Haihan valued him so much, Li Wei readily accepted the arrangement. Accompanied by Shi Diwen and other Haihan officials, he inspected an army company stationed locally.The equipment of this army company seems to be the same as the troops that Li Wei saw at the Datongjiang base, but An Daoshi, who followed behind to watch, noticed that the rifles held by these Haihan soldiers seemed to be the same as those of the Haihan army stationed in North Korea. Weapons are different.
The difference that An Daoshi noticed is indeed an objective existence. The advanced seven-shot rifle is only qualified to be equipped by a small number of elite troops, and the army stationed in Zhoushan is only an ordinary army, and the rifles equipped are also inferior. flintlock gun.Of course, this gap in combat power only exists within the Haihan Army, and it is still a powerful existence that is difficult to defeat externally.
After the welcoming ceremony, Shi Diwen invited Li Mo to share the carriage and go to the location of the local management committee to attend the reception banquet prepared for him and the group of North Korean students.Li Luo also knew that the Haihan people had always regarded hosting banquets as a customary means of socializing, so he thanked Shi Diwen for his warm hospitality immediately.
"In fact, there are people from Ningbo Mansion today, but because their identities are more sensitive, it is not suitable to appear at the pier, so we can only meet the prince when we arrive at the place." After getting on the bus, Shi Diwen threw out a question that surprised Li Wei. information.
Of course, Li Ji knew that the Ningbo Mansion that Shi Diwen was referring to was the local government of Daming, and his visit to Haihan was undoubtedly humiliating to Daming. However, from what Shi Diwen meant, it seemed that the local government came here specially How is it that people show themselves welcome?
"Ningbo Mansion...don't mind my visit to your country?" Li Luo asked tentatively.
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Frankly speaking, as long as the prince doesn't go to Ningbo Mansion openly, they won't mind."
Li Luo suddenly realized that the purpose of the local government to send people here was to persuade him to keep a low profile and not to swagger in their jurisdiction and cause trouble for them.
(End of this chapter)
There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.Even though there have been territorial disputes between Daming and Haihan for many years, this does not prevent local officials from gaining benefits from their contacts with Haihan.What's more, since last year, the two countries have reached a new agreement on diplomatic relations, and put aside disputes in some areas where the ownership is unclear, so as to avoid armed conflicts between the two countries.Of course, there is actually another secret reason, that is, Ming needs the support of Haihan on the northern front to resist the Qing's offensive.
However, in the eyes of local officials in various coastal state capitals, the compromising attitude shown by the imperial court was more due to helplessness.Because there is a clearly visible gap between the armed forces of the two countries, it is impossible for Ming to regain the actual control of these areas through war.Moreover, the benefits brought about by this cross-border trade are too great, enough to make many officials give up their so-called principles.
After the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the local officials in Zhejiang finally understood why the powerful officials in Fuzhou and Guangxi in the south kept pretending to be deaf and dumb to Haihan's actions all the year round, because as long as they do nothing and do nothing, they will There will be a lot of money automatically poured into the pocket.Being a clay bodhisattva can bring you a lot of incense money and keep the safety of the area under your rule, so who would want to risk their wealth and life to fight Haihan to the death?
What's more, those who bravely tried to challenge Hai Han had never heard of anyone who caused any real trouble for Hai Han.People who used to make a lot of trouble disappeared from the officialdom without a sound.But other people who chose to compromise soon found that their lives were getting better and better, and the benefits that Haihan could give were even beyond their imagination.
Today, officials in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions no longer regard Haihan as a scourge, but regard him as a fat and fat God of Wealth.As for Haihan's small actions in the Zhoushan Islands and some coastal counties, as long as the money is in place, there is room for negotiation on everything.
Since last year, North Koreans have come to Zhoushan one after another. In the beginning, they were just businessmen, monks and literati who came to Zhoushan in the name of non-governmental exchanges. After confirming that the local government will not interfere with North Korea and Haihan Only after the exchanges between North Korea and North Korea did officials gradually move into the Zhoushan Dinghai Port operated by Haihan.Of course, these people will not declare that they are working for North Korean officials, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble, but in fact, the North Korean guild hall on the Zhoushan Port side is a semi-official embassy organization, and officials like Jin Sangjiu He handles all kinds of diplomatic affairs with Haihan and Daming in the guild hall.
However, Jin Shangjiu did not come to Zhoushan with this group of North Korean students studying abroad. He actually left Seoul half a month earlier than them, and went to Zhoushan in advance to prepare for the reception of this group of overseas students—of course, the main task of this work The target is the eldest son Li Mo, and others are not qualified to let him, the new Li Cao, run errands.
Because during the Anti-Qing War, he accomplished the diplomatic mission very well, and led the Haihan Fleet to successfully stop the Qing army in the Yalu River. With this credit, Jin Shangjiu was promoted from the original fifth-rank Li Cao Zhenglang to the third-rank. Li Cao's counselor will be regarded as a figure with a place in the court in the future.
Jin Shangjiu did not get carried away because of his promotion. He knew very well where his credit came from, and he knew that if he left Haihan as his backer and returned to Seoul to sit in the yamen, his future career would have to go back to same as usual.If you still want to go up, you have to continue to maintain close contacts with Haihan, so as to win more opportunities to do meritorious deeds.
Therefore, although Jin Shangjiu is already a high-ranking official of the third rank, he still has not given up his original job in Zhoushan.It just so happened that the country was going to send a group of students including the son to study in Haihan, so Jin Shangjiu took the initiative to take over the task and returned to Zhoushan.In terms of familiarity with this place, no one in North Korea can match, and this reception task is really none other than him.
In fact, Jin Shangjiu didn't know how long Li Mo would stay in Zhoushan, maybe just one night, maybe ten days and a half months, and he didn't dare to inquire about such sensitive information related to safety in advance.But as a courtier, he must first make preparations for his son to live in Zhoushan for a long time.
Although the guild hall built by North Korea in Dinghai Port is not as large as the embassy in Sanya, considering that this is one of the main overseas offices of North Korean officials, the guild hall still has plans for receiving important people.After Jin Shangjiu came over, he ordered to adjust the layout of the guild hall according to the plan, and vacated one of the courtyards as the residence of the eldest son Li Mo after he arrived in Zhoushan.
After the fleet from Seoul docked at Shengshan Island, they sent a telegram to Dinghai Port to report their itinerary. Jin Shangjiu also received a notification from the Haihan official that the fleet that Shi Zi belonged to would arrive at Dinghai Port the next day.
Although Haihan's garrison in North Korea did not send high-ranking officials to escort Li Min and his party, Shi Diwen personally greeted them in Zhoushan.Therefore, Jin Shangjiu had to be careful about this matter, and he couldn't act like an outlier and steal Shi Diwen's limelight.
Early the next morning, the fleet set off from Shengshan Island, passed by the west side of Qushan Island and Daishan Island, and then saw Zhoushan Island on the south sea.The fleet passed through the waterway between Jintang Island and Zhoushan Island, and then turned to the east, and there is Dinghaigang Bay surrounded by a lot of small islands.And the busyness of the maritime shipping here also made the North Korean trainees who had all flocked to the deck to see the scenery greatly admired.
Xie Li also boarded Li Mo's boat today and introduced the basic situation of Dinghai Port to him: "My lord, please see that the high place called Xiaozhu Mountain protruding from the middle of the bay in front is used as the dividing line, which divides the bay into three parts. There are two parts, east and west. The east is a civil and commercial port, where most of the trade between our country and Jiangsu and Zhejiang is completed. The west is a military port, where the East my country Sea Fleet is stationed. But before the East China Sea Fleet All of the main ships have already gone north to your country to help in the battle, so there are only a dozen combat ships stationed here at present."
Li Luo thought to himself that it would be difficult for ten or so warships to defend the vast East China Sea, but thinking about it, the Daming Navy here is said to not even leave Hangzhou Bay, so how can there be any opponents in the entire East China Sea? Threatening Haihan.Armed pirates?The coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been completely wiped out by Haihan in the past few years, and all the surviving pirate leaders have changed their appearances and joined Haihan's camp.
Xie Li went on to say: "Dinghai Port's port facilities have completed two expansions, and the third phase of the expansion project is also in progress. After completion, it will become the largest trading port in the entire East China Sea."
Li Luo couldn't help asking curiously: "I heard that Sanya is known as the first port in the South China Sea, so how does this Ding seaport compare to Sanya?"
This question made Xie Li think for a while before answering: "If it is compared to the trade volume, Sanya is of course bigger, but Zhoushan Port has more room for expansion. In another ten or twenty years, the situation may change. It's hard to say."
Xie Li's answer is quite objective. Although Sanya is prosperous, the two harbors of Shengli Harbor and Sanya Harbor have limited space. If they want to expand, they can only continue to build piers on the upper reaches of the Sanya River and Linchun River. It is not suitable as a harbor expansion project.In addition, Sanya is indeed a little far away from the main trading partner of Ming Dynasty, which is far less convenient than Hong Kong, Penghu, and Zhoushan, which are closer to the mainland. Zhoushan has caught up with the rapid development speed in just a few years. If If we can maintain this momentum, it is really possible to catch up with and surpass Sanya in a few years.
Li Luo asked: "I would venture to ask, under the rule of Haihan, are there many ports of the size of Ruding Seaport?"
Xie Li is a real person, and replied honestly: "Dinghai Port is the largest here in Zhejiang, and there is Shipu Port two hundred miles to the south. But further south, Jilong Port, Magong Port, and Kaohsiung Port in the Fujian Strait Hong Kong, Hong Kong at the mouth of the Pearl River is also a large-scale port. As for the South China Sea, there are six or seven ports of similar size. Speaking of ports, the Manila port that our country defeated the Spaniards in the South my country Sea this year is said to be It was the number one port in the South China Sea before Sanya, and now the number one port in the South China Sea is a port of our country!"
In fact, the bottom of this ranking is still the port of Haihan. If Batavia Port on Java Island hadn’t encountered wars in the past few years, almost destroying most of the city, it could barely squeeze into the top few, but now it’s gone. It is not what it used to be, and after the emergence of Shanghai Han, it took away a lot of trade shares from the Dutch, and it can no longer be ranked among the top trading ports in the South China Sea.
Li Lu sighed: "Controlling so many major commercial ports, it's no wonder your country is so rich!"
During the speech, the fleet had already been guided to the shore. Due to the special status of the passengers on board and the escort of warships, these ships all docked at the military port.And Li Lu was able to observe the Haihan warships docked on the shore at close range again. He even noticed that there is a shipyard in the direction of Xiaozhushan, and there are several large and small shipyards under construction. sea ship.
After the ship docked, even if there were staff members on the wharf, they boarded the ship first to confirm the conditions of the passengers, especially the condition of the eldest son Li Wei, so as to ensure that the next meeting between the leaders of the two parties could proceed smoothly.
"The main reason is that you are in poor health. This has happened before. Some distinguished guests were unable to move due to severe seasickness. In the end, they had to be carried off the boat on a stretcher." Xie Li was afraid that Li Luo might misunderstand, so he asked He explained the purpose of this session.
Li Luo expressed his understanding of this. In fact, such a situation is not uncommon in diplomatic occasions. Before his father and king want to meet with foreign envoys, the Li Cao Yamen will first send someone to confirm with the other party.In fact, he is not completely free from seasickness, but after resting on Shengshan Island last night, he has recovered more than half of his body. At this time, his physical and mental conditions are not bad, and he is even a little excited.
In order to show that they attached great importance to the arrival of the son of the Joseon Dynasty, the Zhoushan authorities even arranged a small welcome ceremony, and invited a music class to beat gongs and drums to create an atmosphere.This kind of slightly nondescript arrangement should be Haihan's unique welcome method in Li Wei's opinion. Although he was a little surprised, he didn't show it on his face.
Jin Shangjiu first boarded the boat to meet Li Mo, and then disembarked after closely following Li Mo, so that he could introduce to Li Mo the important people who came to welcome him at the pier at the first time.
Although Shi Diwen was the only high-ranking Haihan official present, almost all the chief officials of the main institutions of the Zhoushan government attended today's welcome ceremony, and there was a long line behind Shi Diwen.
After the two sides exchanged greetings, there was even a military parade.Jin Shangjiu introduced to Li Luo in a low voice: "This is a unique ceremony in Haihan, and it will only be arranged when high-ranking officials in Haihan meet with important foreign figures."
Hearing that Haihan valued him so much, Li Wei readily accepted the arrangement. Accompanied by Shi Diwen and other Haihan officials, he inspected an army company stationed locally.The equipment of this army company seems to be the same as the troops that Li Wei saw at the Datongjiang base, but An Daoshi, who followed behind to watch, noticed that the rifles held by these Haihan soldiers seemed to be the same as those of the Haihan army stationed in North Korea. Weapons are different.
The difference that An Daoshi noticed is indeed an objective existence. The advanced seven-shot rifle is only qualified to be equipped by a small number of elite troops, and the army stationed in Zhoushan is only an ordinary army, and the rifles equipped are also inferior. flintlock gun.Of course, this gap in combat power only exists within the Haihan Army, and it is still a powerful existence that is difficult to defeat externally.
After the welcoming ceremony, Shi Diwen invited Li Mo to share the carriage and go to the location of the local management committee to attend the reception banquet prepared for him and the group of North Korean students.Li Luo also knew that the Haihan people had always regarded hosting banquets as a customary means of socializing, so he thanked Shi Diwen for his warm hospitality immediately.
"In fact, there are people from Ningbo Mansion today, but because their identities are more sensitive, it is not suitable to appear at the pier, so we can only meet the prince when we arrive at the place." After getting on the bus, Shi Diwen threw out a question that surprised Li Wei. information.
Of course, Li Ji knew that the Ningbo Mansion that Shi Diwen was referring to was the local government of Daming, and his visit to Haihan was undoubtedly humiliating to Daming. However, from what Shi Diwen meant, it seemed that the local government came here specially How is it that people show themselves welcome?
"Ningbo Mansion...don't mind my visit to your country?" Li Luo asked tentatively.
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Frankly speaking, as long as the prince doesn't go to Ningbo Mansion openly, they won't mind."
Li Luo suddenly realized that the purpose of the local government to send people here was to persuade him to keep a low profile and not to swagger in their jurisdiction and cause trouble for them.
(End of this chapter)