1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1749 All for Lilai
Although the landscape avenue is wide enough for several horse-drawn carriages to pass side by side, Haihan still underestimated the current prosperity when he designed this main avenue, and did not remind merchants to leave enough space on both sides of the main avenue Wide space to park vehicles and other vehicles.Even if this rule is enacted now, merchants may not be willing to vacate valuable land as a parking lot, so they can only make do with it.

As soon as the meal time comes, some restaurants facing the street with better business will inevitably have distinguished guests coming in and out. The horse-drawn carriages, sedan chairs, rickshaws at the door are mixed together, and the road is easily blocked without guidance.This is the case today. After these coachmen and bearers finished dropping off passengers at the door, they wanted to occupy a nearby seat and wait to pick up the passengers, so naturally they were soon blocked by the roadside.

However, at this time, the nearby patrol police had already arrived, and began to direct the coachmen and bearers at the entrance of the restaurant to vacate their seats, and tried their best to resume the traffic on the landscape avenue.The coachmen and bearers, who were already arguing about their positions, had to quickly move away their food and belongings under the scolding of the patrolman.They have to register at the police station to do this business in the local area, and they can only operate after obtaining a special license. The competition for the seat to pick up and drop off customers is originally for eating, but if they offend the police and have their license revoked for a few days, then it will be true. There is no food to eat.

The reason for such a situation is actually very simple. More and more people are pouring into Sanya, and most of them are ordinary people with no special skills. Such errands do earn a good income, and they also work hard, at least [-]% more than the laborers on the dock in a day.

But after such an income gap appeared, some people who used to work as laborers at the port also wanted to switch to higher-paying errands, so the transportation industry soon began to be saturated, and the number of sedan chairs and rickshaws has increased compared to two years ago The cost is more than double, and even the high-cost box-type carriages, there are now sixty or seventy in the urban area of ​​Sanya.

Although the charges for these privately operated carriages are relatively high, they are the best means of transportation for many face-conscious people.After all, the heads of Haihan also ride in this kind of carriage when they go out. Who wouldn't want to have the same ostentation when they go out?In addition to the official horse-drawn carriages equipped by various departments of Shanghai Han, as well as the horse-drawn carriages purchased by wealthy businessmen, there are at least three hundred horse-drawn carriages in the entire urban area.At today's meal time, there may be hundreds of horse-drawn carriages coming and going on the landscape avenue alone, so it is easy to be blocked.

But when the municipal department noticed this situation and began to realize that the stock of transportation vehicles must be controlled at a certain level, it was actually a little late.Issuing road licenses is one of the control measures, so that at least this disorderly industry can be brought under the direct management of the municipal department.

However, whether this industry should be handed over to the two management committees of Shengli Port and Sanya Port, or should it be managed by the Ministry of Communications, there is still no clear solution.After all, after the industry began to charge management fees, it is a direct benefit that cannot be ignored for the competent authorities.

Although the municipal administration and transportation are not Qingshui Yamen, they will not ignore such improvements as Sanya's internal transportation.Having said that, who would dislike their income too much?Except for about half of the management fees paid by these practitioners to the state treasury, the rest is charged into the small treasury of the competent department in the name of "operating funds". distributed to people.

Of course, Sanya's climate naturally doesn't require any warming expenses, just find a name to send money.Although Haihan is a new government, the benefits that each yamen should have are actually similar to those of Ming Dynasty.Regardless of whether it is municipal or transportation, the officials in charge want their subordinates to enjoy better benefits, so the issue of the management ownership of these practitioners is still unresolved, and the executive committee has not yet issued clear instructions. The administrative expenses that come up are first unified and supervised by the Ministry of Finance.

When Fei Cexian got off the car, the sharp-eyed patrolman had already noticed the Haihan flag hanging on the carriage.Those who can ride in a carriage with the national flag are either high-ranking officials or diplomatic envoys, and even businessmen from wealthy countries do not have this qualification.So right now, a patrolman stepped forward to guide Fei Cexian to open the way, so as to prevent this distinguished guest from being affected by the street congestion.

Fei Cexian was used to such courtesy.Although senior officials of Haihan often embarrass him on diplomatic occasions, in fact, in front of the public, the treatment that Fei Cexian enjoys as a diplomat is quite good. The so-called "office expenses" specially allocated, as long as they show their identities outside, ordinary people will give them [-] points of respect.As for public servants like the police, after knowing their identity, they will take the initiative to take care of them and make them as convenient as possible.

When Fei Cexian was on duty in the capital, although he was an official, his treatment might not be comparable to that here.A signboard dropped on ten people in the capital, and maybe half of them were officials. He, the Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, was just an ordinary member of the thousands of officials in the capital.Want to enjoy the treatment of someone clearing the way outside?It will probably take 20 years in the officialdom to have a chance.

But in Sanya, as a diplomat, he is automatically superior and can enjoy corresponding special treatment. This is one of the main reasons why Fei Cexian likes Sanya.

Being able to get the clear treatment from the patrolman naturally immediately attracted the attention of many passers-by.Fei Cexian, who was hit at the arms exhibition just now, finally regained a little confidence in this environment - after all, in the hearts of ordinary people, he is still a superior existence.

However, such vanity did not last too long, because people who can enjoy such treatment are not uncommon in Sanya.He soon met another man who was cleared by a patrolman, and this man had just met him not long ago. It was the Dutch envoy Su Keyi who had left early at the arms fair.

Su Keyi also saw Fei Cexian almost at the same time, and took the initiative to cup his fists.Of course, Fei Cexian couldn't pretend he didn't see it, so he hurriedly stopped to return the salute.

"Why didn't Master Fei stay for the dinner?"

"It's not speculative, it's more than half a sentence... Didn't Mr. Su leave the venue early?"

The two asked each other a question, and then laughed in a tacit understanding.As the world of diplomacy, they did have a similar situation in Sanya, and both faced Haihan's targeted suppression. It can be said that they were the two most embarrassing people in the past two days.

As for why they had to leave early, both of them were tacit.This is not only a catharsis of personal emotions, but also a way to express one's dissatisfaction to Haihan officials.Maybe outsiders seem a little impulsive, but those involved understand that this is a last resort. If they don't take the initiative to leave, they may have to continue to face the harshness of senior Haihan officials.Since he doesn't have the confidence to tear his face apart, he can only choose to avoid it actively, so that at least there is still a little room for buffering.

Both of them are diplomats with certain experience, so naturally they don't need to waste their time explaining such methods, as they can understand each other's embarrassment.Although the countries the two represent do not have any friendly relations at all, at least at this moment, they have found common ground in their attitudes towards Hai Han.

"It's better to meet by chance than an invitation. Since I can meet Mr. Fei here, it's also considered fate. Why don't we have a light meal together?" Su Keyi took the initiative to invite.

Fei Cexian originally wanted to politely decline, but then he thought, the Dutch envoy might have some unique news to share.Even if there is no gain in this regard, it would be very valuable if he could find an ally with similar interests overseas for Daming.

There is no history of friendly exchanges between Ming and the Netherlands. After the Dutch settled in Penghu in 1604, they also spent a lot of effort trying to get Ming to open the country and give them trade privileges.However, Shi Dezheng, the general soldier of Fujian at that time, rejected the request of the Dutch and asked them to withdraw from Penghu.

In 1622, Governor Cohen of Batavia sent twelve ships to raid Macau in an attempt to seize the port from the Portuguese, but suffered two defeats in Macau.This fleet later circled to Penghu and occupied the area, and kidnapped 4000 Daming people as slave labor, and built forts such as Hongmucheng in the local area.At that time, the two governors of Fujian, Shang Zhouzuo and Nan Juyi, both expressed a tough attitude towards him. In the end, Yu Zigao, the general soldier, and Wang Mengxiong, the garrison, led the attack. After seven months of hard work, Penghu was recovered and the captured Dutch general Gao Wenlu and others were escorted to the capital for beheading.

After the Dutch retreated to Dayuangang, Taiwan, Daming stopped pursuing them.Later, the Fujian Strait gradually became a battlefield of confrontation between Shibazhi and the local government headed by Xu Xinsu, and the Ming court gradually lost its ability to control this area.But from a historical point of view, the relationship between Daming and the Netherlands is indeed not very harmonious.

However, more than ten years have passed since the Battle of Penghu that year, and now the Netherlands is no longer able to threaten the safety of Daming's sea area. The armed forces occupying Penghu have changed from the Dutch to Shibazhi, and from Shibazhi to With the Haihan people, one group is stronger than the other group, and the Fujian garrison has also become a local force ruled by warlords, and there is no plan to recover Penghu at all.For Ming now, there is only one real threat on the long coastline, and that is the Haihan Kingdom, which is still expanding.

Under Haihan's threat, Holland, who seemed to have had old grievances before, has also become a partner on the same front.Although Fei Cexian also knows that his thoughts are a bit too one-sided, but it is true that there are very few countries that are willing to stand with Daming, and even North Korea, the former loyal servant, has a tendency to become a white-eyed wolf .Since even the vassal state has the possibility of changing its face, why can't the old grievances from more than ten years ago not be resolved?

"Master Su is really polite, so I'd rather be obedient than respectful!" Fei Cexian quickly made a decision and accepted the other party's invitation aloud.

Since Su Keyi took the initiative to invite him, he decided to be the host and invited Fei Cexian to a nearby Cantonese restaurant for dinner.However, after the two came to the restaurant, they were told by the shopkeeper that there were no tables for the time being. If they were willing to wait for a while, they could listen to a book in the lobby on the ground floor first, and then arrange them when there were seats available.

Although the two of them had special identities, they were not distinguished enough to allow the store to vacate seats without reservations, so they were a little hesitant to switch to another one.The shopkeeper took a good look at his words and took the initiative to introduce: "If the two uncles are willing to wait, the store can send a pot of new tea that was brought in from Zhejiang this month, and today the storyteller is talking about the Battle of Manila, and there are soldiers from the army. This is news that you cannot hear anywhere else.”

In fact, about the book about the Battle of Manila, Sanya has already had a storyteller interpreting it.However, some people's notebooks are adapted from newspaper news, some are pure jokes, and some are mixed with true or false gossip, each with its own routine.As diplomats, Fei Cexian and Su Keyi were naturally very concerned about the news of the Battle of Manila. They had heard several versions of the interpretation before, but since the shopkeeper claimed to have exclusive information, the two decided to sit down and listen to it. listened.

Immediately, a waiter came over and took them to the lobby to sit down, and then quickly brought a pot of freshly brewed green tea and two plates of snacks.Although the tea and snacks were all given by the store, Su Keyi took the initiative to reward Xiao Er with money, and the Xiao Er received the money and thanked Su Keyi with a smile on his face. Kill the time, Mr. Storyteller will come out soon.

Fei Cexian took a sip of tea, it was really not the kind of crushed tea used to dismiss ordinary tea drinkers, but genuine Dongting green tea.If you paid for it yourself, then this pot of tea would cost at least two or three yuan. The shopkeeper is quite winsome, and he is willing to bring out good things to keep customers.

Su Keyi also praised the tea after taking a sip, and said with a smile that he could buy a few taels of tea from the store after dinner.This is of course a joke, but in terms of the quality of tea provided by restaurants and restaurants, this shop is indeed worth the cost.

Not long after, the storyteller from the store came out, sat on the exclusive seat in the center of the store, wiped his hands with a hot towel, drank two sips of tea to moisten his throat, then patted the wood, and started the performance: "General Born with courage and courage, with autumn waters and wild goose feathers on his waist, the wind blows and drums, the mountains and rivers move, and the lightning flashes, the sun and the moon are high! Today I will tell you the story of our army going to Luzon and conquering the city of Manila!"

After hearing this opening poem, Fei Cexian's expression sank, and he almost threw his glass.

(End of this chapter)