Chapter 2543

Ha Jianyi had just arrived in Hangzhou for two days and did not know much about the local situation. Almost all the information he had came from written materials. There seemed to be no way to verify the identity and background of these former Ming officers. But he still felt

Dai Chengrong's explanation felt a bit secretive. If there was no selfishness involved, Ha Jianyi didn't believe it.

"Captain Dai, does Mr. Shi know about these former Ming officers who were retained?" Ha Jianyi knew that his identity was probably difficult to deter Dai Chengrong, so he simply took Shi Diwen out.

.

Dai Chengrong's expression remained unchanged, he nodded and replied: "Of course, the relevant list has been approved by Master Shi."

Dai Chengrong's answer was a bit vague. He only said that the list had been approved by Shi Diwen, but it did not explain the issue that Ha Jianyi was most concerned about - the background and review process of these former Ming officers, and whether Dai Chengrong also reported to Shi Diwen.

Did you submit a detailed report?

However, Ha Jianyi would not be fooled so easily, and immediately continued: "Brother An Guo and I are going to be guests at Master Shi's house in the evening. Then we can ask him in person about the retained personnel.

"

At this time, Dai Chengrong couldn't hold himself any longer, and responded quickly: "It's a trivial matter, why bother Mr. Shi! If Mr. Ha has any questions, you can just ask them, and I will try my best to answer them."

Ha Jianyi said in a deep voice: "I just want to know the truth."

Dai Chengrong said: "How can you judge that what I just said is not the truth?"

Ha Jianyi said: "To be honest, I have no evidence, so I want to go to Mr. Shi to confirm it."

Dai Chengrong didn't respond, and the room fell into a brief silence. Wang Anguo probably didn't expect that the two of them started to smell gunpowder while talking, and for a while he didn't know how to persuade him.

After waiting for a long time, Dai Chengrong said: "What you are suspicious of is whether these Yangzhou soldiers are reliable. This is actually not difficult to test. Because these people are basically the same as me. They come from the seven major surnames in Yangzhou, which are the first to join Haihan.

There are seven Anhui salt merchants. The prospects for the rise and fall of our seven families have long been tied to Haihan. The higher our status in the military, the safer our families will naturally be. And being loyal to Haihan means being loyal to Haihan.

The executive committee is the basis for our promotion! If it was just for profit, we could run the family business and there would be no need to join the army!"

Dai Chengrong's words really surprised both Ha Jianyi and Wang Anguo.

Over the years, more than half of the people who have gone to Sanya from Daming to study abroad are from relatively good family backgrounds, many of whom are children of powerful families. Otherwise, it would be difficult for them to afford the relevant expenses. Of course, these people have accepted the orthodox

After receiving Haihan-style education and training, it will be easier to get a job in an official Haihan institution.

The purpose of these powerful families in doing this is, firstly, to be optimistic about Haihan's development prospects, hoping to maintain common interests with Haihan. Secondly, after these children enter Haihan officialdom and the army and gain certain power, the reverse can also be done.

Consolidate his family's local influence.

The Hui-born salt merchants in Yangzhou began to cooperate with Haihan more than ten years ago, and then with Dai Chengrong as a successful template, other salt merchant families wanted to imitate the Dai family and tried to send their children into the Haihan army.

It is not difficult to understand, and most of these operations have been carried out before. However, the personnel discovered by Ha Jianyi today were originally officers of the Ming army. Now that the Ming Dynasty is gone, they have to switch to the Haihan sect. This means that these

In fact, the family has always been hedging its bets, acting as a backer to the situation, rather than being "loyal to Haihan" as Dai Chengrong said.

Ha Jianyi said with a straight face: "If their families want to be loyal to my Haihan army, they should let them join our Haihan army from the beginning, instead of joining the Ming army first and then changing camps when the situation goes bad!

"

Dai Chengrong smiled bitterly and said: "Our Haihan Kingdom only captured Yangzhou last year. Who dared to make a clear position easily before that? Letting the children of the clan join the army has been a common practice for many years to ensure the safety of the family's salt business.

If you continue doing this, you are not serving the Ming Dynasty. None of these salt merchants’ sons in the army have ever gone against the Haihan Army.”

What Dai Chengrong said is indeed true. Although Haihan's influence is great, Jiangsu and Zhejiang were still ruled by the Ming Dynasty before last year. How could these salt merchant families dare to openly oppose the imperial court? Children like Dai Chengrong who surrendered to Haihan

, in the army, he also deliberately chose to avoid serving near his hometown, so as not to be used by local officials to rectify the family.

It's just that Ha Jianyi's background is very different from his, and his perspective on the problem is naturally different. Ha Jianyi can understand the concerns of these salt merchant families, but it does not mean that he can turn a blind eye to such practices.

Ha Jianyi actually didn't have much basis to doubt whether the sons of salt merchants in the army were trustworthy. After all, recruiting surrendered soldiers and generals had been a tradition of the Haihan Army for many years. Although Dai Chengrong's approach was suspected of caring for acquaintances and forming cliques for personal gain,

But as long as the conditions of those people are qualified, it is not considered a violation. There are too many such situations in the military. What Ha Jianyi really cares about is whether Dai Chengrong's behavior is not reporting knowledge and concealing the circumstances of his superiors. This is something in the military

The real taboo is in the middle.

Ha Jianyi said: "I can't control what the Yangzhou salt merchant family thinks and does, but I have the responsibility to understand the situation in the army. Commander Dai, let me ask you again, the personal situation of these people and the

Is Mr. Shi aware of the review process?"

Dai Chengrong sighed and said: "Do you really think there is anything in the Donghai Region that you can hide from Master Shi? How could Master Shi not know about the recruitment of former Ming officers?"

"In this case, why did Commander Dai hesitate before and refused to tell the truth?" Ha Jianyi asked.

Dai Chengrong said: "How can we leak the arrangements in the military at will? If you were not a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense with the responsibility of inspecting the local garrison, Dai would not inform you of these inside information!"

Before Ha Jianyi could continue to ask, Dai Chengrong added: "If you still don't believe it, just ask Master Shi yourself tonight. In the meantime, let Master Shi tell you the reason!"

When Ha Jianyi heard what he meant, it seemed that the reason for recruiting these people was not with him, but with Shi Diwen. At that moment, he stopped asking any more questions and thought to himself that he would just go and ask the real owner at night. If Dai Chengrong is what he said,

If there are any untruths, I might as well read a copy to Shi Diwen when the time comes.

Seeing that the matter was finally discussed, Wang Anguo quickly reconciled and changed the subject, asking Dai Chengrong to take them to see the equipment of the local garrison.
Chapter completed!