1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1200 Journey to the South ([-])

The further south he traveled, the more Han Zhengshan could feel the influence of Haihan, and the more complete the infrastructure construction of the trading ports belonging to Haihan he saw.For example, the port area on the coast of Causeway Bay in front of us is not just a few passenger and cargo terminals. The large residential area built according to the terrain on the coastline shows that there are at least thousands of permanent residents living here.As far as the eye can see, there are no large tracts of farmland or plantations, which shows that the source of local income is most likely to rely on maritime trade brought by ships, as well as corresponding intermediaries, labor services, warehousing, and accommodation. , catering and other service industries, and such a trade-centered social division of labor is definitely a rare sight in Daming.

Immigrants, including Han Zhengshan, got more freedom of movement here. They were organized to go ashore in batches to visit the local port operations, and learned more about the current situation here from the explanations given by the official team leader.The increasingly mature trade market and convenient transportation conditions, as well as complete supporting facilities and related regulations, have made it replace the role of the Pearl River Wharf outside Guangzhou to a certain extent, and become the largest trading port in the coastal area of ​​Guangdong. .

In fact, even if there is no corresponding explanation, it is not difficult for a discerning person to infer from the prosperity of the port area how much resources Haihan has invested in running this place, and Haihan's emphasis on and dependence on trade cannot be imitated by the local government of Ming Dynasty.

Han Zhengshan came from Hangzhou and has a more personal understanding of this situation. The status of Hangzhou in Zhejiang is similar to that of Guangzhou, both of which play the role of political, economic and cultural centers in the region. However, after Haihan opened a port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang The center of coastal trade gradually shifted from Hangzhou to Zhoushan Island outside Hangzhou Bay, which is almost a replica of the transfer process of the trade center in Guangdong.The difference between the two places is that Haihan people have only established a foothold in Zhejiang for a short time, and the influence of Zhoushan trade port is still relatively limited for the time being, while Guangdong is where Haihan has been operating for several years. Influence is not something that Zhoushan can match at present.

Although Han Zhengshan has never been to Guangzhou, judging from the introduction of the team leader and what he has seen now, it is not difficult to guess how Haihan gradually seized trade shares from Guangzhou by operating his own port—the same method, They have been playing in Zhejiang for more than a year, and Han Zhengshan has some understanding.If the Guangdong government wants to change this situation of resource outflow, it probably has to adopt the means of closing the country, prohibiting Haihan from conducting any form of trade in Guangdong, and having to completely drive Haihan out of the Pearl River Delta region.

Can the Guangdong government do this?The answer is obvious.When Haihan's foothold in Zhejiang was not stable, the government had already been unable to parry. This year, he directly hit the city of Hangzhou, forcing Zhejiang's chief minister Wang Ji to sign an alliance under the city, and opened up the trade rights in Zhejiang to Haihan.If this is the case in Zhejiang, it is needless to say that the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, which are the traditional territory of Haihan, have been infiltrated by Haihan to the extent that the local government here is only worse than Zhejiang.If someone tried to use violent means to keep Haihan out, I'm afraid the end would be even worse than those early buddies in Zhejiang. The pressure from the Guangdong officialdom alone would probably be enough to make him lose his position.

During the visit, Han Zhengshan noticed that the people maintaining public order were not the Haihan soldiers seen at the previous stops, but a strong young man in black, with a wooden stick at his waist, and a rattan helmet on his head.According to the team leader's introduction, these people are called "policemen", and their scope of duties is similar to that of Han Zhengshan's past errands.

Han Zhengshan looked at it for a while, and couldn't help but asked the leader: "These people only carry a wooden stick. If the murderer has a sharp knife, wouldn't he suffer a lot?"

The team leader took a look at Han Zhengshan, and still patiently explained to him: "You've missed your mark. Look at the copper whistles hanging on their chests. When something goes wrong, they can blow to attract nearby companions to come for reinforcements. The small cowhide bag contained stainless steel handcuffs, which were used to lock up the captured prisoners. The police officer leading the team was also equipped with a repeating fire blunderbuss, and a single bullet could kill a person several feet away. If you can do whatever you want in the Haihan territory by relying on knives, guns and sticks, that is a big mistake! There are many heroes from all walks of life who want to make a fortune in the past few years, and I haven’t seen anyone who can get away smoothly. All of them have been imprisoned in the hard labor camp! Besides, there is still the Haihan Army stationed here, what kind of situation can't be handled!"

Han Zhengshan couldn't help being shocked when he heard the words "hard labor camp". Although he has now been classified as an immigrant waiting to be assigned, he still vividly remembers the days he spent in the hard labor camp. And this topic is inevitably a bit sensitive.After knocking stones in the Zhoushan hard labor camp for nearly a month, he didn't want to go back to that environment.

Nearly 300 immigrants from Penghu finally stayed in this port, but Han Zhengshan’s name was still not among them.This meant that he would continue to travel south with the immigrant ship, and his final destination might be somewhere in the South China Sea far away from Daming, as he had previously expected.However, Han Zhengshan is no longer willing to think about the uncertain future. At least from the few Haihan ports he has visited, the living conditions are much better than those in the hard labor camps no matter how bad they are.

The immigrant fleet rested in Hong Kong for a day and two nights. When they set off again, a troop carrier and an exploration-class warship were added to the fleet, both of which were returning to Sanya for a rest.After leaving Hong Kong, the martial law on the ship was further lifted. Immigrants can go to the deck to breathe in groups every day. The duration of each release has also increased from about one stick of incense in the past to an hour.

On the second day after departure, the captain finally announced to everyone the destination of the next stop—Sanya, the capital of Haihan Kingdom.The news made the immigrants gasp in amazement. They have gradually seen the strength of Haihan along the way, and they are full of expectations for this oceanic country and their future life. Now they have the opportunity to go to Haihan As the capital of the country, it is natural to be very excited.

However, there are also insiders like Han Zhengshan who have known for a long time that the so-called land of Haihan Kingdom actually occupied Qiongzhou Island, which belongs to Guangdong and Guangxi. It's just that the government here colluded with Haihan and kept the relevant situation concealed.Although this matter is not airtight, and there are rumors in Zhejiang, but I don’t know how many benefits the Guangdong and Guangxi government have given to the big bosses of the court, so that Ming has never declared war on Haihan, trying to regain control of these areas.

In fact, Han Zhengshan didn't have a clear understanding of Qiongzhou Island's location, size, and historical evolution, but since Haihan was able to occupy it and build a country, it shouldn't be a small place.Along the way, I heard that Sanya is known as the largest city in the South China Sea. In fact, he really wanted to see what the big city of Haihan Kingdom looked like. Compared with the city of Hangzhou where he had lived for many years, it was better or worse.

Since this immigrant fleet is going to dock in Sanya, it is not surprising that some of the immigrants on board will be left there for resettlement, and this is undoubtedly the best place for immigrants to enter Haihan society.Even though Han Zhengshan still had a lot of resistance to Haihan, he couldn't help feeling a little lucky, maybe he would have a chance to be selected and settle down in the capital of Haihan.Han Zhengshan thinks he has some ability, even if he is not a headhunter, with his understanding of various ways of the world, he is enough to make a living from scratch. If such an arrangement can really be made, there is no chance of a comeback in the future.

However, the weather was not so good. The southward journey was smooth and smooth, but at this juncture, it encountered continuous storms. The fleet had to abandon the original direct route to Sanya, and instead traveled westward along the coastline. It took nearly two days to avoid the stormy waters, and then turned south to Qiongzhou Island.The voyage, which could have been completed in four or five days, abruptly took seven days to reach the destination.

Before the fleet sailed into the port area, the immigrants who were ventilating on the deck felt the specialness of this place. There were not only groups of merchant ships on the sea, but also warships flying the Haihan flag cruising back and forth. It reminds people that this is indeed the seat of the capital of Haihan, and the patrols at sea are not relaxed.

Several small boats with triangle sails flew across the sea at an astonishing speed, making everyone on the deck dumbfounded.The sailor explained that these small boats were samples used by the Ministry of Shipping for sea trials and were the product of the latest shipbuilding technology.This kind of speedboat can sail from Sanya to Hong Kong in less than three days when the sea conditions are ideal.

But what puzzled Han Zhengshan was that the wharf where the fleet docked did not look prosperous, far less than Hong Kong, Penghu and other places. There were a few boats parked on the wharf, which did not look like the largest city in the South China Sea. appearance?
Han Zhengshan asked his question to a sailor next to him, and the sailor looked at him like a fool and said, "This is a wharf dedicated to resettling immigrants. It is about ten miles away from Sanya City, and there are not many merchant ships entering or leaving the port. Will dock here, of course it will look deserted."

The immigrant fleet docked at the immigration-only wharf on the Luhuitou Peninsula. Adjacent to the wharf is a large immigrant camp that can accommodate thousands of people at the same time. Entry here.

After Han Zhengshan got off the ship, he knew how outrageous his judgment was. It was just that there were fewer ships docking in this place, but the construction level of the shore facilities had greatly surpassed the previous ports.The road surface here has been hardened, and this is the first time that Han Zhengshan has seen such a straight and smooth road, leading from the pier to the camp in the distance.The buildings as far as the eye can see are almost all masonry structures, unlike the port terminals at the previous stations, which are mostly bamboo and wood buildings. This also shows that Haihan spent a lot of thought and resources in building this place. More.

After the immigrants disembarked, they gathered in a routine group. Han Zhengshan had already been familiar with the relevant passwords in the hard labor camp, and it was easy to execute them.Some people with slow hands and feet and unclear brains will inevitably be scolded, and there are groups of black-clothed policemen around the assembly area, and no one dares to speak out or deliberately violate orders.

After the headcount was counted against the roster, the immigrants were taken away from the assembly area in batches, and went to the next location for "purification treatment".The so-called purification treatment means letting the immigrants enter the bathhouse to wash themselves well. This is a very pleasant thing for Han Zhengshan. Since he was kidnapped by the Haihan people in Hangzhou City, he has not taken a decent bath again. .As for the few clothes on his body brought from Zhejiang, they were all ordered to take off in the bathhouse because of lice and turned them in.

Of course, the Haihan people didn't let him stay naked, and gave him separate clothes after washing.When I got out of the bathhouse, I saw that almost all the immigrants had changed into uniform blue cloth suits, which were strangely neat.Han Zhengshan was dumbfounded when he saw it, only for the free clothes distributed to the immigrants, Haihan's investment was not a small amount, and this reputation of wealth and wealth was always reflected everywhere.

The next step is to divide the dormitories. Han Zhengshan has to admit that the living environment here is indeed very tidy. Whether it is in the camp or in the dormitory, they are all cleaned up. According to the civil affairs cadre who led them into the camp, this kind of cleanliness is According to the rigid requirements of the chiefs, the living area must be cleaned every day, and there are strict assessment standards.

"The sanitation here is closely related to the labor points of each of you!" The civil affairs cadre said loudly: "No matter where you are assigned to settle down in the future, the labor points are your lifeblood! You will apply for naturalization in the future to upgrade the labor force. Grades, buying houses and land, life, old age, sickness and death are all linked to points! So don’t think that this is an unimportant trivial matter, daily cleaning is as important as your food and sleep!”

Han Zhengshan has also listened to a lot of lectures on immigration policy on the ship these days, and he has a certain understanding of the labor point system.In fact, this is not much different from the points system he used in the hard labor camp, except that the labor points of immigrants and Haihan nationals have more benefits linked to them and have a greater effect.If you want to live well in Haihan's social system, or even look for opportunities to climb up, you can't get around this point system.However, Han Zhengshan did not expect that even this kind of public health would be linked to personal points, and it seemed that he would not be able to stay in the immigrant camp leisurely.

The work came faster than he thought. Not long after the dormitory was allocated, someone came to gather them and began to assign labor tasks to them.What made Han Zhengshan a little dumbfounded was that the first labor task after coming to Sanya turned out to be to return to his old job, and each of them received a small hammer to knock stones.

(End of this chapter)