Chapter 2176

Ma Zhengping believed that Duan Tiancheng's righteous words were just superficial. Haihan's various domineering deeds in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the past few years were widely circulated among the people. Although Ma Zhengping had never experienced it personally, he had heard the relevant rumors.

I don't believe what Duan Tiancheng said about the inconvenience.

Although it was true that the last time Zhoushan sent people to Yangzhou to use force, it was not done openly, but Yangzhou salt merchants including Ma Zhengping believed that this was not because the Zhoushan authorities were afraid of the Ming Dynasty and restrained themselves, but because the Haihan people felt that it was not enough to deal with such a trivial matter in Yangzhou.

It is only necessary to send out regular troops.

If the people sent by Zhoushan failed to deal with the musketry team of the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants at that time, they might wake up one day and find that the Haihan army was approaching Yangzhou City. And this was exactly what the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants were fighting.

The main reason why he lost his teeth and swallowed it in his stomach and did not dare to seek revenge afterward was that if the Haihan people were angered, even the government would not be able to protect them.

But what the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants were afraid of was exactly what Ma Zhengping was looking forward to. Ma Zhengping hosted Duan Tiancheng for a banquet, hoping to hear a tough statement from him against the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants, so that he could feel at ease and reconcile with the Shanshan and Shaanxi salt merchants.

Haihan conducts in-depth cooperation.

It's just that Duan Tiancheng went around and around but refused to give him a happy word, which made Ma Zhengping very helpless. He felt that the other party actually understood his purpose, and maybe he was deliberately teasing him.

Of course, Ma Zhengping also knew that what Duan Tiancheng said did not completely represent the official attitude of the Zhoushan authorities. The statement he expected was actually just to seek a kind of psychological stability.

Although he failed to fully achieve his goal, having the opportunity to contact Zhoushan's senior military attachés was a big breakthrough for Ma Zhengping. Even if it is of no use now, it might be of great use in the future.

Eating this portion alone was obviously not enough to fully express Ma Zhengping's sincerity in making friends with noble people. Seeing that he had almost eaten, Ma Zhengping asked his subordinates to bring a gift list and handed it to Duan Tiancheng respectfully: "Master Duan, this is the first time we meet.

This is a small gift, but I hope you won’t find it objectionable!”

Duan Tiancheng declined a few words with a smile, and finally took the gift list at Ma Zhengping's insistence. He opened it and looked at it. In addition to the several Yangzhou local specialties written on it, there was also a bulging gift in the gift list.

Envelope. Duan Tiancheng understood this and did not open the envelope again. He closed the gift list and accepted it, thanking Ma Zhengping for his kindness.

Of course, Xuan Xiangming, as the middleman, also had a gift, but compared to the benefits given to Duan Tiancheng, the weight was slightly inferior.

"I have official business today, so I won't bother you too much. I'll find another time another day and invite Boss Ma to get together." After Duan Tiancheng received the benefits, he stood up and left.

Ma Zhengping thought to himself that he was just waiting for me to give him a gift. After receiving the gift, he left without wasting any time. As for Duan Tiancheng's kind words, he did not dare to take them all seriously. According to his past interactions with people in the officialdom,

From experience in dealing with people, if an official takes the initiative to invite a private gathering, he or she is probably looking for an excuse to beg for help from the salt merchants.

Ma Zhengping still doesn't know whether Duan Tiancheng is following this approach. He only hopes that after giving the other party practical benefits, he can get some stronger commitments.

After Duan Tiancheng came out of the restaurant, the expression on his face became serious. He called a rickshaw on the roadside and immediately returned to the East China Sea Fleet Headquarters in Dinghai Port. Although it was already late, the headquarters was not

The shops where transactions are conducted are manned 24 hours a day, so Duan Tiancheng feels that it is necessary to report the information he just obtained as soon as possible.

From the conversation with Ma Zhengping just now, Duan Tiancheng has actually realized that the Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou may not be in a good situation. Although Ma Zhengping chatted and laughed with him, his words revealed unconcealable anxiety, and

He repeatedly hinted that he hoped Haihan could use tough measures to deal with Yangzhou's competitors.

Of course Duan Tiancheng could understand Ma Zhengping's hint, but he really couldn't make any effective promises to the other party.

Nowadays, the diplomatic relations between Haihan and Ming Dynasty have changed compared with previous years. In addition to guarding the security of the colonial area and surrounding waters, the Zhoushan garrison can no longer launch aggressive military operations against Ming Dynasty at will. At least, it must be done by Shi Diwen himself.

Only if the order is issued. If it is a large-scale operation, it must be reported to Sanya for approval first.

Based on such a system, even if Duan Tiancheng gave some promises expected by the other party, they would not be effective in practice. And it was impossible for him to order a battalion of soldiers and then set off to raid the salt merchant's home in Yangzhou just because of Ma Zhengping's plea.

So after going back and forth for a long time, Duan Tiancheng still didn't let go even after accepting the gift from the other party.

It’s not that Duan Tiancheng didn’t care about this matter. He thought that since Ma Zhengping was desperate to get his disciple, it was probably that the Huizhou salt merchant had begun to be unable to handle it. However, due to his position, it was not convenient for him to directly intervene in this matter.

The only thing we can do is report the situation first, and let the headquarters and the Military Intelligence Bureau decide how to respond.

As soon as Duan Tiancheng entered the headquarters compound, he saw an acquaintance and greeted him quickly: "Brother Ji, I just want to see you for something!"

The person Duan Tiancheng greeted was Ji Yuanqing from the Military Intelligence Bureau, one of the commanders of the Yangzhou operation last year. There are probably few people in the Zhoushan authorities who know the situation of Yangzhou salt merchants better than him.

Duan Tiancheng stopped Ji Yuanqing and immediately described Ma Zhengping's situation without being verbose.

After hearing this, Ji Yuanqing smiled and said: "Ma Zhengping is really good at finding ways to find you for help in a roundabout way. He must be hoping to get some inside information from you."

Duan Tiancheng said seriously: "Brother Ji, I am a non-staff intelligence officer specially approved by General Shi. I also know how to memorize the confidentiality regulations. How can I easily leak information to outsiders?"

Ji Yuanqing waved his hand and said: "It's just a joke. Brother Duan, don't mind. This is not the place to talk. Go to my office to talk!"

The office of the Military Intelligence Bureau is actually in the compound of the headquarters, and you can't walk a few steps. After entering the office and sitting down, Ji Yuanqing first made a cup of hot tea for Duan Tiancheng: "It smells of alcohol. Did you drink it for dinner?"

Less?"

"Then we have to deal with the Yangzhou salt merchant!" Duan Tiancheng took the tea cup with both hands and put it on the table next to him. He said with unfinished content: "This salt merchant is really rich. The meal the three of us had just now can probably be worth as much as me."

Two months of military pay!”

Ji Yuanqing smiled and said: "Then you have to control yourself and don't get in his way!"

Duan Tiancheng said: "These businessmen are generous and good at flattery. It is indeed easy to be bribed by them without knowing it. If I hadn't received training in this area when I was studying in Sanya, I might actually be able to do this.

set."

Due to the special population structure of Haihan, more than two-thirds of the existing officials were from the Ming Dynasty, so it was impossible to prohibit contacts between officials and people from the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, merchants from the Ming Dynasty purposefully made friends with Haihan officials, and

It is not uncommon in this period to bribe and win over Haihan officials for personal gain.

The rule makers at the top also know very well that whether it is now or hundreds of years from now, it is basically impossible to completely prohibit this kind of thing by laws and regulations. It can be achieved by relying on the system.

To the extent that it is done, it just draws a red line to let officials know which behaviors are absolutely prohibited, and those who violate them will be punished with death.

As for things that are not prohibited, although they may not be legal or compliant, if you have to do it on the sidelines and get some benefits for yourself, you won't easily get into trouble.

Of course, if someone loses control and does something illegal in order to receive benefits, then as long as he is caught, the consequences will be very tragic. Losing an official position is a minor matter, and they will usually be sent to Liaodong or Nanyang.

He spent the rest of his life in a hard labor camp.

During Duan Tiancheng's training in Sanya, there were regulations on confidentiality, and when he was in the military, he would be repeatedly ordered to emphasize the importance of military secrets. This had long formed an ideological imprint, but he would not be easily impressed by the Ming Dynasty who met him for the first time.

The businessman tricked him into it.

The benefits can be collected, but whether the matter can be done or not depends on the specific analysis of the specific issues. Duan Tiancheng knows that Ji Yuanqing is responsible for following up on matters in Yangzhou, so asking him directly for advice should be able to get the answers he needs.

"According to the information we have, the operating conditions of Hui-born salt merchants represented by the Seven Big Surnames are indeed not very good in recent months. They have been increasingly suppressed by competitors and their profits have been in a serious decline."

Ji Yuanqing introduced to Duan Tiancheng: "If it is allowed to develop, we believe that Huizhou salt merchants may lose more than 80% of their existing market share within one to two years. By then, it will be difficult for them to rely on the remaining

Do business to maintain their influence in the Yangzhou salt market. Simply put, it is only a matter of time before they are driven out of the market by their competitors."

Duan Tiancheng was confused and said: "Brother Ji, your actions in Yangzhou at the end of last year caused heavy damage to the Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants. Why did the Huizhou salt merchants fail to take advantage of this opportunity to launch a counterattack? This left the opponent with a chance to recover.

, and now it’s passive again.”

Ji Yuanqing said: "It's not like Ma Zhengping and the others haven't tried to fight back, but they are afraid of wolves in front and tigers in the back, and their internal opinions are not unified. It is difficult to form a real joint force in the counterattack. Some people want to fight, and some people want to make peace.

, they never thought about whether their opponents had any intention of making peace."

Duan Tiancheng sighed and said: "If this is the case, once the Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants calm down, they will definitely attack them harder!"

"That's exactly what happened." Ji Yuanqing nodded and acknowledged Duan Tiancheng's speculation: "Although their musketeers were defeated by us, it just proves the power of this form of armed force. From the end of last year to this year, we sent troops to Hirado

During this period, they should have managed to buy another batch of muskets from overseas. But after last year's lessons, they no longer dare to point their guns at the salt transport team related to us, and have been concentrating firepower on them.

Competitors who don’t have much power to fight back.”

Compared with competitors with overseas weapons suppliers, the situation of Huizhou salt merchants is undoubtedly very embarrassing. They are not short of money, but there is no place to buy weapons of equal power. Huizhou salt merchants even used connections to approach the Zhoushan authorities to purchase them.

Weapons and ammunition, but in the end the deal failed to be reached due to various reasons.

The Huizhou salt merchants were already at a disadvantage in the competition, but their opponents had begun to use force and targeted the salt transport caravans of the Huizhou salt merchants, which soon greatly affected the salt sales channels under the Huizhou salt merchants' names.

.

Ji Yuanqing said: "They are now about to become drowned dogs in Yangzhou. It is difficult to find people who are willing to help them get out of trouble. They seek medical treatment in a hurry. Even if they know that we have the ambition to annex Yangzhou Salt Industry, they still can only

Bite the bullet and come to us for cooperation."

After listening to Ji Yuanqing's introduction, Duan Tiancheng understood why Ma Zhengping always expressed a sense of anxiety when talking. It is estimated that this trip to Zhoushan to discuss cooperation is a matter of life and death for the Huizhou salt merchants in Yangzhou.

No wonder he was anxious.

"Then what is our attitude? Stand by and watch, or choose an opportunity to intervene?" Duan Tiancheng asked curiously.

Ji Yuanqing said: "What kind of countermeasures we take are related to the purpose we want to achieve. What do you think our purpose is?"

"Of course it is to control the salt industry market in Jiangsu and Zhejiang with Yangzhou as the center." Duan Tiancheng gave the answer without hesitation.

"That's right. From this perspective, both the Shanshan Salt Merchants and Ma Zhengping's camp are actually our competitors. But will their disappearance help us take over the salt market? That's not necessarily the case."

Ji Yuanqing continued his analysis: "I talked with Yang Yun, and he thinks that the best situation is for us to use the existing distribution channels of Yangzhou salt merchants to operate. We produce salt, and the salt merchants provide channels. Only in this way can we take over and operate with the highest efficiency.

Control the salt market. To achieve this goal, we have to recruit a group of people to our side. There are only two groups of Yangzhou salt merchants, and they are sworn enemies of each other, so there is no need to say who we should recruit to join the group."

After listening to Ji Yuanqing's analysis, Duan Tiancheng had roughly clarified his thoughts, nodded and said: "Then supporting Huizhou salt merchants is the best choice, but if we don't directly intervene, I feel that they will never be able to defeat each other!"

Ji Yuanqing said: "Yes, they think so too, so Ma Zhengping will try every means to test your attitude. I hope you can make a statement on behalf of the military."

Duan Tiancheng smiled bitterly and said: "But I can't express this stance. Even if I want to express my stance, it's not my turn to say it."

Ji Yuanqing said: "You don't have to belittle yourself. I know that General Shi still values ​​you very much. In addition, the key to this issue is not who will express his position, but what kind of support we should give to Huizhou salt merchants to help them defeat their competitors."

.”

"It's definitely not enough to just sell salt to them." Duan Tiancheng scratched his head and said: "But if we repeat the operation at the end of last year, the risk factor will be too great, and the effect may not be ideal."
Chapter completed!