Chapter 2577

When he returned to his residence that day, Ning Zijing saw that both of them were not interested, so he asked them about the situation of meeting Shi Diwen during the day. The two of them did not hide anything and told them everything.

Ning Zijing said: "I think Brother Bai's worries have some truth. You think that if Uncle Shi wants to promote someone, he doesn't need to do it through such complicated means as manipulating the provincial examination, but have you ever thought about it? That's just our habitual thinking. Participate in

Do the candidates for the provincial examination and ordinary people have such thoughts? They only think that obtaining fame through the imperial examination is the right way to enter the officialdom. Especially for those with family backgrounds, passing the imperial examination can legitimately enter the officialdom.

, it may be more important to them that the procedures are correct.”

Bai Letong frowned and said: "You mean that 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 what kind of person would value the symbolic meaning so much, and even ask Uncle Shi to cooperate and arrange for the township trial office to cooperate."

Ning Zijing said: "I am just raising a conjecture, which may not be the truth. Since Uncle Shi has said that he will investigate the matter after the provincial examination, I think you should not worry about this matter anymore. So should the examination questions be changed?

It shouldn’t affect the overall situation if we change it, so Brother Bai shouldn’t have too much obsession with it.”

Bai Letong said: "Can we find out more about Brother Tao's relationship?"

Tao Hong shook his head in embarrassment and said: "The people I used are not from the government. If we continue to conduct an in-depth investigation, we will inevitably alert the enemy, which may affect the holding of this year's provincial examination."

Bai Letong was already helpless 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 depressed, so he immediately changed the topic and said: "Today shopkeeper Li sent someone to send a message, saying that the Yangzhou salt merchant will be arriving tomorrow and invites us to meet.

What do you think?"

Tao Hongfang had already agreed on this matter when he met Li Fa that day, and naturally he would not refuse. He just happened to bring Bai Letong along as a way to relax, lest he keep thinking about the provincial pilot project and worry about it sooner or later.

Something is going to happen.

Ning Zijin saw that Bai Letong was still hesitant, so he also advised: "Brother Bai, the purpose of our coming to Hangzhou this time is not only to complete the tasks assigned above, but also to increase our knowledge and expand our contacts. Based on our recent experience,

From what we have seen, we know that Yangzhou salt merchants have a great influence in the Donghai region, so it would not hurt to get acquainted with them."

Bai Letong couldn't stand the two of them taking turns lobbying. He thought it would be nice to be out of sight and out of mind, so he agreed.

Both Li Fa and the salt merchant from Yangzhou can be regarded as the 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 meeting will be held in Hangzhou.

Fa Bian played the role of a landlord and planned to entertain the distinguished guests.

There were quite a few guests who came to Li Fa's house that day. In addition to the heads of various branches of Qiong Lianfa in Hangzhou, many local wealthy businessmen and celebrities were also invited, and there were even some officials.

After Tao Hongfang got off the bus at the entrance of Li Mansion, he immediately saw an acquaintance, Wan Yan, the head 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 exchanged a few words with Wan Yan, he learned that the salt merchant who came from Yangzhou this time was an old acquaintance of him, so Li Fa set up a reception banquet and specially sent him an invitation to attend today's meeting.

Activity.

Tao Hongfang asked curiously: "Shopkeeper Li has created such a huge formation to support him. The person who comes here must be a top figure among Yangzhou salt merchants, right?"

Wan Yan responded: "So you don't know who the distinguished guest is today? The most powerful among the Yangzhou salt merchants are the Huizhou salt merchants, and the person coming to Hangzhou this time is Dai Yingda, the leader of the Huizhou salt merchants. He is stationed in Hangzhou.

Dai Chengrong, commander of the Second Regiment of the Seventh Lu Division in the city, is his youngest son."

Speaking of the name Dai Yingda, Tao Hongfang didn't have much specific impression, but he heard Ha Jianyi mention Dai Chengrong a few days ago. At that time, Ha Jianyi came back from inspecting the Second Regiment's station and thought that the regiment leader

Dai Chengrong was suspected of nepotism and took special care of those who were born in Yangzhou when retaining former Ming officers. This was the first time after they arrived in Hangzhou that they realized the huge influence of Yangzhou salt merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Of course, as an outsider, Ha Jianyi has no right to dictate the affairs of the local garrison. Even if he is a special envoy sent by the Ministry of National Defense to inspect military affairs in Zhejiang, this status is not suitable for the direct troops under Shi Diwen.

The influence is really very limited. So although Ha Jianyi had doubts about Dai Chengrong's approach, he still had no way to deal with him. He even failed to win Shi Diwen's support, so he had no choice but to give up.

When the group arrived at the door, a dedicated person greeted them and took them to the banquet hall of the mansion to sit down. After Tao Hongfang and others entered, they found another acquaintance - Shi Diwen's eldest son Shi Chengwu.

Perhaps in order to keep a low profile, Shi Chengwu did not attend the ceremony wearing a military uniform today, but with his status, he did not need to rely on a uniform to support the scene. At this time, there were at least a dozen people surrounding him, saying hello and being attentive.

Everyone was huddled together, trying to seize this rare opportunity to leave a good impression on Master Shi.

Shi Chengwu was obviously very familiar with such scenes, and did not react much to the enthusiasm of the people around him. He only nodded slightly occasionally to indicate that he had noticed their presence.

At this time, Shi Chengwu also saw Tao Hongfang and others entering the banquet hall, so he took the initiative to get up and invite them to sit at his table. Speaking of their status, it was appropriate for them to sit together on such an occasion.

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After Tao Hongfang and others took their seats, they exchanged a few words with Shi Chengwu and found out that he was attending today's banquet on behalf of Shi Diwen. This shows that when Yangzhou salt merchant Dai Yingda came to Hangzhou, his influence was not just limited to the private sector.

That's all. Even Shi Diwen paid enough attention to this. Although he didn't come in person, sending his eldest son to attend the event was already a huge honor to the organizers.

When the guests had almost arrived, the host Li Fa appeared in the banquet hall, and he was accompanied by an energetic old man in black. It was obvious that this person should be today's distinguished guest Dai Yingda.
Chapter completed!