Chapter 1551 Long-term vision

But whether a person like Wang Ji, who is full of small calculations, is suitable to occupy a high position to govern a province, Shi Diwen is not in a position to judge. But based on the impressions the two of them had come into contact with today, Shi Diwen felt that this

He is more than shrewd, but his overall view is a bit poor. He only cares about the industries and interests he can control, but he lacks sufficient understanding of the prospects of cooperation between the two parties in politics, economy, culture, and military. The two talked.

One day, there was little talk about the upcoming establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The conversation was all about grain trade, which obviously should not be the only topic between the two countries.

But for Haihan, as long as Wang Ji wants something, the matter will be easy to handle. Whether it is grain trade or other industries, it is easy to operate with Haihan's financial resources, not to mention buying large quantities of grain from Zhejiang is very important to Haihan.

It is just a necessity, and now it is just a matter of changing the transaction partner. As long as Sanya does not object to this, there will be no other big obstacles to reaching an agreement with Wang Ji.

As for the grain merchants who are currently trading with Haihan, as long as the chief envoy is brought out, these merchants will have no choice but to knock out their teeth and swallow it in their stomachs even if they are dissatisfied. In the future, Wang Ji will also try to integrate Zhejiang's grain industry

, that’s when these grain merchants really face the test.

Only three hours after Shi Diwen sent the telegram, he received the instructions from Sanya. Considering that the executive committee may have held an emergency meeting for this purpose, it must be said that the efficiency of this work is quite high.

The opinion of the executive committee is very clear, that is, buying and controlling Wang Ji is the prerequisite, and other conditions can be decided by Shi Diwen at his discretion. In other words, the future direction of Zhejiang's grain market is actually also Shi Diwen's idea.

between.

However, since the executive committee has made a clear direction and takes the capture of Wang Ji as its primary goal, Shi Diwen has nothing to hesitate about. The negotiations continued the next day, and basically all of Wang Ji's demands on the first day were met by Shi Diwen.

Diwen’s recognition, this is not only the issue of Haihan’s grain procurement share, but also a series of agreements between the two parties on grain transportation, settlement methods, trade rights, etc. to ensure grain trade between Haihan and Zhejiang grain merchants

It can be carried out safely and stably. As for the interest transfer relationship based on grain trade, this is the default situation of both parties, and no further explanation is needed.

Of course, Shi Diwen will not stop there. He needs Wang Ji to make further commitments, that is, after the two countries establish diplomatic relations, Haihan's rights and interests in Zhejiang will be protected.

"Zhoushan Islands and Shipu Port must be assigned to our country. The boundary demarcation work can be jointly organized by the two countries, but it must be completed before the end of this year." Shi Diwen began to lay out Haihan's conditions: "

During the normal business activities of Haihan nationals in Zhejiang, their personal and property safety must be guaranteed by the authorities."

According to the content of the establishment of diplomatic relations agreed between the two countries in Liaodong, in fact, there is still no clear conclusion on the territory with sovereignty disputes. The Ming Dynasty has always refused to give up any territory since its founding. Although this so-called "not giving up" is only a unilateral insistence.

However, there is indeed no precedent of ceding territory for peace in interactions with foreign countries. Therefore, for the areas actually occupied by Haihan and originally belonging to the Ming Dynasty, the diplomatic agreement between the two countries also tried to obscure the territorial sovereignty issues in these areas. However, in

When it comes to local implementation, Haihan will clearly make territorial claims to the local government, and Zhejiang is no exception.

Shi Diwen's claim for sovereignty over these two places had actually been communicated to Wang Ji through various channels before, so it could not be said to be a sudden attack. But Wang Ji obviously thought that this matter might still be negotiated.

He still tried to adopt delaying tactics regarding Shi Diwen's conditions: "The two places mentioned by General Shi are both the maritime gateways of Zhejiang and cannot be easily given to outsiders. I will report the matter to the imperial court and let the emperor make a decision.

.”

Shi Diwen thought to himself that it is useless to bring Chongzhen out. He is your Emperor of Ming Dynasty and not Emperor of Haihan. How can he still scare me? Then he responded with a somewhat dissatisfied tone: "Master Wang, wait for this.

After a lot of fussing, I'm afraid another month or two has passed. We Haihan have a saying that time is money. If something can be done today, we will not postpone it until two months later. Not to mention it is expensive.

The emperor has so many things to do, how can he have time to take care of the small things in this county!"

Wang Ji said: "General Shi's words are wrong. If such a major matter is not reported to the imperial court, wouldn't it be dereliction of duty on my part?"

Shi Diwen shook his head and said: "There is no need to report it. It's not like the imperial court of your country doesn't know these things. Otherwise, Jinzhou in Liaodong is now occupied by our country. Why did your emperor still agree to establish diplomatic relations with our country? Isn't he just counting on our army to be able to do so?"

Are you in the north blocking the Jin cavalry from going south for your country? Even the state capital in the north can hardly be saved, and you are still fighting with us in the south for this county. Do you think His Majesty the Emperor will be happy when he knows this news?"

The establishment of diplomatic relations between Haihan and Ming Dynasty was essentially a transaction. Daming hoped that Haihan could block Houjin's invasion from the south, while Haihan needed Ming Dynasty to open the country so that he could obtain the resources and markets he needed, and at the same time recognize that

The lands that had been taken over by Haihan were replaced by new owners. Both parties got what they needed in this transaction, which was actually beneficial in the long run. Ming was able to protect its state from destruction, and Haihan also

They can get the land, raw materials, manpower and markets they need most. The most important thing is that both countries can get peace from it.

The knowledgeable people at the top of the two countries can naturally calculate this situation and understand the benefits that establishing diplomatic relations can bring to them, so they quickly decided on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries after the Liaodong talks. Haihan

They spent money and sent troops to hold back the funds in the north, and then used trade methods to earn back the expenses in the south. It was easier for the Ming Dynasty to do things. They only had to remain deaf and dumb to Haihan's behavior throughout the process.

A guy like Wang Ji who wants to play the smart guy halfway is unlikely to be recognized by the court and Emperor Chongzhen. His plan to report to the court for his cleverness is actually tantamount to tearing off the court's fig leaf.

How could it be possible to tolerate his behavior? If he hadn't shown sincerity in cooperating with Haihan, Shi Diwen would have asked him to write a memorial without mentioning him, and then the imperial court would have used any pretext to kill the chief minister.

The hat was removed and a more sensible official came to Zhejiang to take charge of the overall situation.

Wang Ji was still a little skeptical after hearing Shi Diwen's warning. He knew that Haihan had the desire to annex the land under his control, but his attitude towards the court was not clear. If this matter is really what Shi Diwen said,

, the imperial court had actually known about it for a long time and pretended not to know, then he would really be seeking death if he jumped out. But he did not dare to deal with such a big matter hastily, otherwise the imperial court would sentence him to the loss of his land, and he would not be able to keep his official position.

of.

Shi Diwen saw the hesitation on his face and guessed what he was thinking, so he continued to persuade: "Master Wang, I know you are afraid of taking responsibility. In fact, as long as you ask about the situation in Shandong, you will know that I have no

I'm lying to you. Even if the imperial court wants to pursue the responsibility for the lost land, it will definitely deal with Shandong, which is closer to the capital, first."

Shi Diwen's words were indeed a wake-up call for the dreamer. The war Haihan had caused in Shandong was even greater, so Shandong would definitely be the first to be held accountable. But so far, I haven't heard of anything from Shandong Governor Zhu Dadian.

The news of being punished by the imperial court. The Haihan people built a military base in Shandong and used it as a springboard to march into Liaodong. It has been two years since then, and the imperial court has not made a drastic response. Compared with the situation in Shandong and Zhejiang,

It's really nothing. There was only one time when the Haihan Navy blocked the Qiantang River and made a big fuss, but in the end no force was used.

Why the imperial court has been waiting and watching the situation in Shandong? There are naturally various speculations in the official circles. Some say that the Haihan people and the imperial court have already negotiated terms, so the two sides maintain a strange tacit understanding. Others say that the emperor

He had great trust in Zhu Dadian, but he did not believe that the Haihan people could mount any big battle in Shandong. He also said that the imperial court had been preparing for war, but the peasant army in the Central Plains was too troubled and could not send enough troops to arrive.

Dengzhou to annihilate the Haihan people.

No matter what the real reason was, in the end the imperial court did not use force against the Haihan people entrenched in Dengzhou. This is an indisputable fact. And then it allowed the Haihan people to send troops into Liaodong, and then sat back and watched the Haihan army seize the original territory from Hou Jin.

It belongs to the Jinzhou area of ​​Ming Dynasty.

If these things are connected according to the timeline, Wang Ji even suspected that the imperial court intended to let the Haihan people go north and use their military power to intervene in Liaodong, thus creating a situation of sitting on the mountain and watching the fight between tigers. Haihan and Hou Jin fought hard

The more powerful it is, the more Ming Dynasty will benefit from it. This truth is obvious. However, this theoretical plan to drive away tigers and devour wolves also has considerable risks. If Haihan does not choose to go to Liaodong after arriving in Shandong, but instead

If we want to develop the country and seize the land in Shandong Peninsula, the Ming Dynasty will be in big trouble.

Therefore, Wang Ji didn't really believe that the imperial court would take such a big risk. This was more like a helpless choice - if he really wanted to fight, he might not be able to defeat the Haihan Army, since the Haihan Army had not shown any intention of a large-scale invasion.

, then simply turn a blind eye and see what Haihan is doing in Shandong first. Then Haihan went directly across the sea to Liaodong. This can only be said that the court's strategy of shrinking its head is a gamble.

Well, the Haihan people did not want to go to war with the Ming Dynasty. They would rather fight the Jin people in the north than break up with the Ming Dynasty.

Perhaps it was based on this understanding that when Haihan invited envoys from the Ming Dynasty to meet in Liaodong, the Ming Dynasty half-heartedly agreed to Haihan's series of diplomatic requests, and specifically exempted them from territorial issues. However, Shi Shi

Wang Ji, the chief envoy of Zhejiang Province, whom Diwen evaluated as "short-sighted", obviously did not have enough observation and understanding of this international situation.

But now that the true master of Haihan is in front of him, it is much easier to understand these issues. Shi Diwen's simple words awakened Wang Ji and made him realize the bias of his ideas.

"Sir Wang, we chose to discuss cooperation with you, not because you control the grain market in Zhejiang, nor because we can't find other partners in Zhejiang's official circles, but because we think your situation is the most suitable for our cooperation.

Shi Diwen continued to persuade: "If you can't even do this most basic cooperation, then I'm afraid we have to reconsider the reliability of this cooperative relationship."

Shi Diwen has been able to confirm that the political sensitivity and vision of this chief envoy may not be as good as Qu Yutong. For a prefect like He Guanzhi, he cannot clearly judge the current situation based on his official position, which shows that his ability is relatively limited.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing for Haihan, at least such officials will be easier to deal with. Shi Diwen feels that there is no need to send more people from Sanya, as Wang Ji can be dealt with by himself.

Shi Diwen's persuasion really worked, and Wang Ji's attitude was obviously shaken. Dang Ji said that everything was easy to discuss. As Shi Diwen said, Haihan didn't necessarily have to find him if he wanted to find a partner.

, the three departments at the same level, in addition to the Provincial Envoys Department, there are also two yamen: the Commanding Envoys Department and the Punishing and Punishment Chasing Department. Although the leaders of those two yamen are in charge of military affairs and criminal affairs respectively, their ranks are the same as him.

People of the same rank and rank can also speak effectively in Zhejiang official circles.

If Haihan gives up on him and looks for cooperation with two other yamen, although he may have to take some detours, he will still be able to achieve the same result in the end. But Haihan has a choice, but Wang Ji does not. If there is no such thing as Haihan,

Partner, he wants to integrate the grain market in Zhejiang, but he is afraid that he will not be able to complete it when his term of office expires. Wang Ji is extremely persistent in this matter, and even disdains other cooperation projects recommended to him by Shi Diwen, even if it is

For this obsession, he must first preserve his cooperative relationship with Haihan.

Shi Diwen's eyes were opened this time, and he realized that there were actually such "mediocre people" in the official circles of the Ming Dynasty whose abilities did not match their positions. Of course, saying mediocre people was actually a bit exaggerated. At least Wang Ji was controlling the local grain.

In terms of the market, his achievements have far exceeded that of Haihan, and have even reached the point where Haihan will not be able to bypass him in future food purchases. Although this is not an extraordinary political achievement, it at least proves that Wang Ji

He also has skills that he is good at. Although his administrative ability is not good, he can be considered a good hand at running trade.

Wang Ji had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree to Shi Diwen's request. Anyway, the official document on the establishment of diplomatic relations from the capital should already be on the way. In less than two days, we will know what the court's true attitude towards Haihan is. If that doesn't work, he can go to

It's too late to regret it when the time comes.
Chapter completed!