Chapter 2577
Chapter 2577
Chapter 2577
When he returned to the residence that day, Ning Zijing saw that the two of them were not interested, so he asked them about the situation of meeting Shi Diwen during the day.The two of them didn't make any secrets, and said everything in detail.
Ning Zijing said: "I think Brother Bai's worries are justified. You think that if Uncle Shi wants to promote someone, he doesn't need to use such complicated methods as manipulating the rural examination to achieve it, but have you ever thought about it? It's just our habitual thinking. Participate Would the students in the township examination and ordinary people have such thoughts? They would only think that passing the imperial examination to obtain fame is the right way to become an official. Especially for those who have a family background, passing the imperial examination can justifiably step into the officialdom , correct procedure may be more important to them.”
Bai Letong frowned and said: "You mean, for some candidates with prominent backgrounds, the symbolic meaning of obtaining fame may be more important than the purpose of obtaining the opportunity to become an official?"
Tao Hongfang said: "But I really can't think of any kind of person who would value the symbolic meaning so much, and even get Uncle Shi to cooperate and arrange for the township pilot to cooperate."
Ning Zijing said: "I'm just putting forward a conjecture, which may not be the truth. Since Uncle Shi has said that he will investigate this matter after the rural examination is over, I don't think you should worry about this matter anymore. So whether to change the rural examination questions or not?" Changing it should not affect the overall situation, Brother Bai, don't have too much obsession with it."
Bai Letong said: "Brother Tao's relationship, can we find out more information?"
Tao Hong shook his head with embarrassment and said, "The manpower I used is not from the government. If I want to continue to investigate deeply, I will inevitably startle the snake, and it may affect the holding of this year's rural examination."
Bai Letong was already powerless about the current situation, even if he thought there was something wrong with it, he had no choice but to accept Ning Zijing's suggestion first.
Ning Zijing also knew that continuing the discussion would only make the two of them feel depressed, so he took the initiative to change the topic and said, "Today shopkeeper Li sent someone to send a message, saying that the Yangzhou salt merchant will arrive tomorrow and invite us to meet. how about?"
Tao Hongfang had agreed on this matter when he met Li Fa that day, so naturally he would not refuse.It happened to pull Bai Letong up, and it was right to relax his mind, lest he keep thinking about the things about the township trial, and if he continued to toss, something would happen sooner or later.
Seeing that Bai Letong was still hesitant, Ning Zijing persuaded: "Brother Bai, the purpose of our visit to Hangzhou this time is not only to complete the tasks assigned by the above, but also to increase our knowledge and expand our contacts. Based on our recent It can be seen from what we have seen and heard that Yangzhou salt merchants have a great influence in the East China Sea region, and there is no harm in getting acquainted with them."
Bai Letong couldn't stand the lobbying of the two of them in turn, thinking that it would be better to get out of the atmosphere of going to the countryside for a while, so he agreed.
Whether it is Li Fa or the salt merchant from Yangzhou, they can be regarded as top rich people in this era.Before Li Fa went to Yangzhou, he should have established a relatively good relationship with the other party. This time the meeting place was set in Hangzhou, and Li Fa played the role of the landlord, intending to treat the distinguished guests well.
There were quite a lot of guests who came to Li Fa's mansion that day. In addition to the heads of Qiong Lianfa's various branches in Hangzhou, many local wealthy businessmen and celebrities were also invited, and there were even some officials in the government.
After Tao Hongfang got off the car at the gate of Li's Mansion, he immediately saw an acquaintance, Wan Yan, the person in charge of the Hangzhou Office of the Ministry of Commerce.
Wan Yan also noticed Tao Hongfang's appearance immediately, and hurried over to greet him.
After Tao Hongfang and Wan Yan exchanged a few words, they learned that the salt merchant who came from Yangzhou this time was an old acquaintance with him, so Li Fa set up a reception banquet and specially sent him an invitation card to invite him to attend today's meeting. Activity.
Tao Hongfang asked curiously: "Shopkeeper Li has put up such a big battle to welcome him, so the person who comes here should be a top-notch figure in Yangzhou salt merchants, right?"
Wan Yan replied: "Young master doesn't know who the distinguished guest is today? Among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, the most powerful salt merchants are Huizhou salt merchants, and the one who came to Hangzhou this time is Dai Yingda, the leader of Huizhou salt merchants. He is stationed in Hangzhou. Dai Chengrong, head of the Second Regiment of the Seventh Army Division in the city, is his youngest son."
Speaking of the name Dai Yingda, Tao Hongfang didn't have much specific impression, but Dai Chengrong was mentioned by Ha Jianyi a few days ago.At that time, Ha Jianyi came back from his inspection tour of the Second Regiment's garrison, and he thought that the head of the regiment, Dai Chengrong, was suspected of cronyism, and he took special care of the personnel from Yangzhou in the process of retaining former Ming military officers.This is also the first time they realized the huge influence of Yangzhou salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang after they arrived in Hangzhou.
Of course, as an outsider, Ha Jianyi naturally had no right to dictate the affairs of the local garrison.Even though he is a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense to inspect military affairs in Zhejiang, this status has very limited influence on Shi Diwen's direct army.So even though Ha Jianyi had some doubts about Dai Chengrong's approach, he still had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't even win Shi Diwen's support, so he had no choice but to give up in the end.
When a group of people arrived at the door, they were received by someone specially assigned to lead them to the banquet hall in the mansion to be seated.After Tao Hongfang and others went in, they found another acquaintance, Shi Chengwu, Shi Diwen's eldest son.
Perhaps in order to keep a low profile, Shi Chengwu did not wear a military uniform to attend today, but in his capacity, it is true that he does not need to rely on uniforms to support the scene.At this time, there were at least a dozen people around him, those who greeted Ann, those who were courteous and huddled together, all wanting to seize this rare opportunity to make a good impression on Young Master Shi.
Shi Chengwu was obviously familiar with such scenes, and he didn't react too much to the enthusiasm of the people around him. He just nodded his head lightly occasionally, indicating that he had noticed their existence.
At this time, Shi Chengwu also saw Tao Hongfang and others entering the banquet hall, so he stood up and invited them to sit at his table.Speaking of their equal status, sitting together on this kind of occasion is also justified.
After Tao Hongfang and the others were seated, they exchanged pleasantries with Shi Chengwu, and only then did they know that he was representing Shi Diwen at today's banquet.It can be seen that when Dai Yingda, a salt merchant from Yangzhou, came to Hangzhou, his influence was not limited to the folk level. Even Shi Diwen paid enough attention to it. Although he did not come in person, he sent his eldest son to attend the event. For the organizers, it is already a big face.
The guests were almost here, and the host, Li Fa, appeared in the banquet hall, and he also appeared with a hale and hearty old man in black. It goes without saying that this person should be today's honored guest, Dai Yingda.
(End of this chapter)
When he returned to the residence that day, Ning Zijing saw that the two of them were not interested, so he asked them about the situation of meeting Shi Diwen during the day.The two of them didn't make any secrets, and said everything in detail.
Ning Zijing said: "I think Brother Bai's worries are justified. You think that if Uncle Shi wants to promote someone, he doesn't need to use such complicated methods as manipulating the rural examination to achieve it, but have you ever thought about it? It's just our habitual thinking. Participate Would the students in the township examination and ordinary people have such thoughts? They would only think that passing the imperial examination to obtain fame is the right way to become an official. Especially for those who have a family background, passing the imperial examination can justifiably step into the officialdom , correct procedure may be more important to them.”
Bai Letong frowned and said: "You mean, for some candidates with prominent backgrounds, the symbolic meaning of obtaining fame may be more important than the purpose of obtaining the opportunity to become an official?"
Tao Hongfang said: "But I really can't think of any kind of person who would value the symbolic meaning so much, and even get Uncle Shi to cooperate and arrange for the township pilot to cooperate."
Ning Zijing said: "I'm just putting forward a conjecture, which may not be the truth. Since Uncle Shi has said that he will investigate this matter after the rural examination is over, I don't think you should worry about this matter anymore. So whether to change the rural examination questions or not?" Changing it should not affect the overall situation, Brother Bai, don't have too much obsession with it."
Bai Letong said: "Brother Tao's relationship, can we find out more information?"
Tao Hong shook his head with embarrassment and said, "The manpower I used is not from the government. If I want to continue to investigate deeply, I will inevitably startle the snake, and it may affect the holding of this year's rural examination."
Bai Letong was already powerless about the current situation, even if he thought there was something wrong with it, he had no choice but to accept Ning Zijing's suggestion first.
Ning Zijing also knew that continuing the discussion would only make the two of them feel depressed, so he took the initiative to change the topic and said, "Today shopkeeper Li sent someone to send a message, saying that the Yangzhou salt merchant will arrive tomorrow and invite us to meet. how about?"
Tao Hongfang had agreed on this matter when he met Li Fa that day, so naturally he would not refuse.It happened to pull Bai Letong up, and it was right to relax his mind, lest he keep thinking about the things about the township trial, and if he continued to toss, something would happen sooner or later.
Seeing that Bai Letong was still hesitant, Ning Zijing persuaded: "Brother Bai, the purpose of our visit to Hangzhou this time is not only to complete the tasks assigned by the above, but also to increase our knowledge and expand our contacts. Based on our recent It can be seen from what we have seen and heard that Yangzhou salt merchants have a great influence in the East China Sea region, and there is no harm in getting acquainted with them."
Bai Letong couldn't stand the lobbying of the two of them in turn, thinking that it would be better to get out of the atmosphere of going to the countryside for a while, so he agreed.
Whether it is Li Fa or the salt merchant from Yangzhou, they can be regarded as top rich people in this era.Before Li Fa went to Yangzhou, he should have established a relatively good relationship with the other party. This time the meeting place was set in Hangzhou, and Li Fa played the role of the landlord, intending to treat the distinguished guests well.
There were quite a lot of guests who came to Li Fa's mansion that day. In addition to the heads of Qiong Lianfa's various branches in Hangzhou, many local wealthy businessmen and celebrities were also invited, and there were even some officials in the government.
After Tao Hongfang got off the car at the gate of Li's Mansion, he immediately saw an acquaintance, Wan Yan, the person in charge of the Hangzhou Office of the Ministry of Commerce.
Wan Yan also noticed Tao Hongfang's appearance immediately, and hurried over to greet him.
After Tao Hongfang and Wan Yan exchanged a few words, they learned that the salt merchant who came from Yangzhou this time was an old acquaintance with him, so Li Fa set up a reception banquet and specially sent him an invitation card to invite him to attend today's meeting. Activity.
Tao Hongfang asked curiously: "Shopkeeper Li has put up such a big battle to welcome him, so the person who comes here should be a top-notch figure in Yangzhou salt merchants, right?"
Wan Yan replied: "Young master doesn't know who the distinguished guest is today? Among the salt merchants in Yangzhou, the most powerful salt merchants are Huizhou salt merchants, and the one who came to Hangzhou this time is Dai Yingda, the leader of Huizhou salt merchants. He is stationed in Hangzhou. Dai Chengrong, head of the Second Regiment of the Seventh Army Division in the city, is his youngest son."
Speaking of the name Dai Yingda, Tao Hongfang didn't have much specific impression, but Dai Chengrong was mentioned by Ha Jianyi a few days ago.At that time, Ha Jianyi came back from his inspection tour of the Second Regiment's garrison, and he thought that the head of the regiment, Dai Chengrong, was suspected of cronyism, and he took special care of the personnel from Yangzhou in the process of retaining former Ming military officers.This is also the first time they realized the huge influence of Yangzhou salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang after they arrived in Hangzhou.
Of course, as an outsider, Ha Jianyi naturally had no right to dictate the affairs of the local garrison.Even though he is a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense to inspect military affairs in Zhejiang, this status has very limited influence on Shi Diwen's direct army.So even though Ha Jianyi had some doubts about Dai Chengrong's approach, he still had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't even win Shi Diwen's support, so he had no choice but to give up in the end.
When a group of people arrived at the door, they were received by someone specially assigned to lead them to the banquet hall in the mansion to be seated.After Tao Hongfang and others went in, they found another acquaintance, Shi Chengwu, Shi Diwen's eldest son.
Perhaps in order to keep a low profile, Shi Chengwu did not wear a military uniform to attend today, but in his capacity, it is true that he does not need to rely on uniforms to support the scene.At this time, there were at least a dozen people around him, those who greeted Ann, those who were courteous and huddled together, all wanting to seize this rare opportunity to make a good impression on Young Master Shi.
Shi Chengwu was obviously familiar with such scenes, and he didn't react too much to the enthusiasm of the people around him. He just nodded his head lightly occasionally, indicating that he had noticed their existence.
At this time, Shi Chengwu also saw Tao Hongfang and others entering the banquet hall, so he stood up and invited them to sit at his table.Speaking of their equal status, sitting together on this kind of occasion is also justified.
After Tao Hongfang and the others were seated, they exchanged pleasantries with Shi Chengwu, and only then did they know that he was representing Shi Diwen at today's banquet.It can be seen that when Dai Yingda, a salt merchant from Yangzhou, came to Hangzhou, his influence was not limited to the folk level. Even Shi Diwen paid enough attention to it. Although he did not come in person, he sent his eldest son to attend the event. For the organizers, it is already a big face.
The guests were almost here, and the host, Li Fa, appeared in the banquet hall, and he also appeared with a hale and hearty old man in black. It goes without saying that this person should be today's honored guest, Dai Yingda.
(End of this chapter)