1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1046
On the day Tom Wang's fleet set off from Sanya, Zhoushan had already received a telegram from the base camp all the way through several bases along the southeast coast, so the corresponding preparations had been made very well.The anchorage of the fleet, the resident camp of relevant personnel, the required living materials and supporting facilities have all been prepared.Of course, there is also the most important and indispensable reception banquet, which has been prepared for Wang Tom and his party.

"Boss, this is Mr. Wei from Linshanwei...this is Mr. Huang from Guanhaiwei...These three are Lin brothers from Liuheng Island, and they are also the first marine merchants in the area to join us..."

It was Yang Yun from the Ministry of Commerce who introduced the identities of the guests to Wang Tom and others. Because of his outstanding performance in the Penghu office, he was transferred to Zhoushan by Schneider last year to serve as the director of the newly established East China Sea Affairs Office of the Ministry of Commerce.Although this General Affairs Office is still under the jurisdiction of Fujian, as Haihan gradually strengthens its control over the East China Sea region and its trade routes continue to expand, it will soon be independent and become the Ministry of Commerce's trade authority in this region.

Yang Yun presided over the investment promotion meeting held after Haihan occupied Zhoushan last year. During this period, he successfully completed the operation of many investment promotion projects, and his performance was also recognized by Haihan's senior management.With Yang Yun's current performance and position, it is no surprise that he will be one of the best among the naturalized cadres under the Ministry of Commerce in a few years.

Usually, Yang Yun is in charge of the business related to trade in Zhoushan. He is more familiar with local connections than Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen.Only he and Gong Shiqi from the security department knew the true identities of these guests.

The guests from Linshanwei and Guanhaiwei are naturally not ordinary people. Mr. Wei is the second son of Wei Shan, the commander of Linshanwei, and Mr. Huang is the younger brother of Huang Tao, the commander of Guanhaiwei. The brothers are the three heads of the Sanlin Gang, an armed maritime organization that defected to Haihan last year.These people can be regarded as powerful people in Ningbo Mansion, and they are also the target group that Haihan is making great efforts to win over to his camp.

The news these people got beforehand was that the commander of the Haihan National Navy was about to visit Dinghai Port for inspection. According to Daming, he was almost a senior official at the same level as the Minister of War.For these people who want to have a good relationship with Haihan, it is naturally necessary to come to Dinghai Port to join in the fun.But just now at the pier, they saw the huge scale of the Haihan fleet that arrived this time, which also made them feel a little uneasy. They don’t know whether it is such a big show for Haihan’s military servant to go on patrol, or the Haihan people have other plans. It is planned to use force against Zhejiang.

If it is the latter possibility, then the purpose of the Haihan Military Minister who came to Zhejiang from the south for thousands of miles may not only be to inspect the Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, but to go to the front line to supervise the battle.Although this possibility is not great, for Ningbo Mansion, which is close to Zhoushan Island, it may turn into a catastrophe at any time.Those present were also very aware of Haihan's military strength. Once a war broke out, the garrison of Ningbo Mansion would not be able to stop these wolf-like Haihan soldiers.

Among the guests here, those who have the closest relationship with Haihan are the three Lin brothers on Liuheng Island.If Lin Xing, the eldest of the three brothers, hadn't wisely chosen to join Haihan, they would have turned into dust of history, just like the Haisha Gang on Liuheng Island.

The nature of the Sanlin Gang is to arm smugglers, and when the time is right, they will also act as guest pirates. However, after Haihan entered the Zhoushan Islands, the main action is to fight against all kinds of pirates. Naturally, the Sanlin Gang gave up this part-time job tactfully. , Peace of mind to follow the Haihan people to engage in transnational trade.Although they currently regard Haihan as their main priority, they don't want Haihan to start a war with Daming—it has nothing to do with nationality, it's purely for profit considerations.

If the two parties were to fight, the maritime trade currently engaged in by the Sanlin Gang would be greatly affected, and most of the gang members were Ming people, and many of the Lin brothers' family members also settled in Daming territory. From their own standpoint, I'm afraid that those who support Daming will occupy the majority of the Sanlin Gang.Of course, whether he has the guts to confront Hai Han is another matter.

Lin Xing plucked up his courage, and took the opportunity of a toast during the banquet to ask Tom Wang: "Sir, I saw the Haihan fleet sailing like clouds at the pier today. Could it be that there is another pirate gang in the coastal waters of Zhejiang, and the labor force is here?" Requisition?"

Hearing Lin Xing's trembling tone, Tom Wang had already guessed his thoughts seven or eight points. He didn't directly respond to his question right now, but asked instead: "Master Lin, since our Haihan army entered Zhoushan, the nearby waters have How has the law and order situation changed?"

Lin Xing replied honestly: "After the Haihan army arrived, they wiped out all the large and small pirate gangs in the vicinity. Naturally, the sea is quite peaceful."

"What about the business situation?"

"The chiefs of Haihan are good at trade, and it is well known in the world. Of course, this business is more prosperous than before. The number of merchants traveling to and from Zhoushan has at least doubled, and Liuheng Island, where the villain is located, is also much more lively than in previous years."

Wang Tom nodded and said: "Look, this is already very obvious. The purpose of our Haihan coming here is not to mess up Zhejiang, but to create a peaceful and stable environment and lead everyone to make a fortune through business. .For us, whoever wants to cause chaos in Zhejiang is against us, Haihan!"

During Wang Tom's speech, not only did everyone present stop talking, even the accompanying guests at the table next to him also fell silent, listening to the Haihan senior official's comments on the current situation in Zhejiang.Although Haihan didn't make any big moves after he pacified Zhoushan last year, the locals still remember Haihan's thunderous tactics, and they have always been very afraid of this armed maritime group from the south.

During this period, it is not that the Zhejiang government has tried countermeasures, but they were all thunderous and rainy. Not only did they not achieve any results, but a commander and several generals who led the troops died inexplicably.Haihan people not only did not retreat from Zhoushan, but instead made their business bigger and bigger. Now, in addition to Ningbo, Shaoxing, Jiaxing, and Hangzhou, which are close to Zhoushan, businessmen from Suzhou, Yangzhou, Changzhou, Zhenjiang and other places in Jiangsu They will also go south along the Yangtze River to do business in Zhoushan.

The trading market operated by Haihan in Zhoushan is large in scale, low in fees, and has the official intermediary and guarantee system provided by Haihan. Even the settlement can be done through the platform of Haihan Bank. Buyers and sellers don’t have to worry about the safety of doing business here. question.It can be said that in the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, it is difficult to find another trade market that operates so professionally. Even the traditional trade centers in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Yingtianfu and Hangzhoufu, cannot compete with Zhoushan, which is controlled by Haihan, in many emerging business projects. to compete.

This is a good thing for some businessmen in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but at the same time it will inevitably damage the interests of other people.Haihan's unique trading system has had a significant impact on traditional industries. It is not just that industrial products are robbing the market for primary agricultural products and handicrafts. Even Daming's original financial system has inevitably suffered from Haihan. pressure.

In the past year alone, several banks and banks in the coastal areas of Zhejiang have closed down because they could not compete with Haihan Bank.Compared with its peers in this era, Haihan Bank, which is managed by professionals such as Schneider, has huge advantages in terms of operation methods, financial means, and capital flow. If the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Finance are involved in this process to speed up the process, it will be difficult to say.Theoretically speaking, if Haihan Bank wanted to use financial means to deal with private banks with limited funds, Schneider would probably be able to come up with dozens of different plans casually.

Some people think that Haihan has brought benefits, and if they want to make a fortune, they should work with him; Seeing the ups and downs that Haihan brought to the Zhejiang market after the arrival of Haihan, he was worried that one day it would affect him, and he was in a wait-and-see state about the trend of the situation.

Before this, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen, who guarded this place, rarely made such public statements to the outside world. Even the local leading party attached to Haihan like the Lin Brothers didn't know Haihan's real intentions. , but in the mentality of surrendering to the strong, although he has doubts, he can only keep it in his heart, and has not received a reasonable official answer.The arrival of Wang Tom may be because his position sounds more authoritative, and his interpretation of the current situation is naturally more representative of Haihan's official attitude to everyone.

Wang Tom continued: "Everyone is a smart person who is willing to share wealth with Haihan, and we also welcome such sincere cooperation partners. What I can assure you is that the purpose of all Haihan armed forces stationed in Zhoushan They are all to protect the safety of the surrounding area, not to have any bad intentions against Daming. Haihan’s interests are the same as those of everyone here, and I hope everyone can clearly understand this.”

Lin Xing quickly responded: "Of course I understand the kindness of the chief. But the villain dares to ask one more question, will the troops who came to Zhoushan this time be stationed here for a long time?"

Tom Wang smiled and said, "What is Island Master Lin still worried about, why don't you just say it?"

Lin Xingying said: "The villain thinks that Haihan's hard work may not be understood by everyone. This increase in troops in Zhoushan will inevitably arouse the suspicion of outsiders. If the chief can publicly post a notice in Ningbo Mansion to inform the public of his painstaking efforts , presumably it will not cause rumors and turmoil in the outside world."

"Rumours and turmoil?" Tom Wang said with a slight smile, "Isn't Master Lin worried about the Hangzhou government's opinion on this matter?"

Seeing that Lin Xing's face changed slightly, Wang Tom knew that he had scruples in what he said, so he continued, "I think there are many people here who are worried about the same thing as Lin Daozhu, right? Then I I just take this opportunity today to say a few more words, and I hope that after hearing this, you can put down the burden of thinking, and do business with us with peace of mind in the future."

Now everyone put down the chopsticks in their hands, and focused their eyes on Tom Wang.If Tom Wang just said some scene words, then what he will say next may be the real weighty content.

Wang Tom said in a deep voice: "The first thing Haihan did when he came to Zhejiang was to destroy a group of civilian armed groups who bullied the market and did evil. These people call themselves maritime merchants, but they do illegal activities. The benefits obtained are as many as one million taels of silver. Of course, these people cannot eat all of this amount of silver. I am aware of the shady transactions behind the scenes, and everyone here is also aware of it. Some people in Hangzhou Prefecture feel that they Their interests have been harmed, so they want to put this account on Hai Han's head, the calculation is good, but they may not understand one thing, that is, how big is the gap in strength between them and Hai Han!"

"In the past few years, there are quite a few people who have tried to fight against Hai Han. There are rogues and pirates from Ming Dynasty, as well as Portuguese, Dutch, and Spaniards from the West. Of course, there are also some Ming officials who have miscalculated. I also thought of many ways to deal with Hai Han, but in the end they all ended in failure. These people who choose to fight Hai Han now do not know what kind of setbacks their forerunners have experienced, thinking that they are stumbling in the dark , With some small tricks, Hai Han can make Hai Han bow his head. For such stubborn people, Hai Han's only response is to knock them down with his fists, and then step on them hard, and he will not leave them to die again. Chance to get up!"

Speaking of the excitement, Tom Wang stood up, walked to the window, pointed outside and said, "Everyone has seen the fleet docked at the port outside. On the one hand, this is to protect the peace of the sea in this area, and on the other hand, it is also to deter those Restless young people! I hope these people can realize who their opponents are, and don’t think that they will be fine if they stay in Hangzhou. Sanya is four thousand miles away from Zhoushan, and we can also come across the sea. Zhoushan Island is far from Hangzhou. But four hundred miles, we can go whenever we want!"

Tom Wang slowly walked back to his seat: "Of course, I didn't say this to declare war on anyone, but to show Haihan's attitude. If there are always people in Zhejiang who are against Haihan, then we can only Maintain the size of the garrison in Zhoushan for a long time, so as to protect the trade market here from being destroyed by some people who are ignorant of current affairs. Haihan welcomes friends, but he is not afraid of any challenges. If someone wants to test Haihan's bottom If there is no limit, then let me say something, when you touch the bottom limit, you have to bear the consequences that follow!"

(End of this chapter)