1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1782
Due to the large scale of this troop dispatch and the very tight schedule, the military's logistics department did not have the leeway to start preparations months in advance like the Manila battle, so it was a bit stretched to complete the preparation of combat materials only in Sanya.However, this kind of problem is not difficult for the experienced executive committee. After several telegrams were sent from Fort Victory, Hong Kong, Penghu, Zhoushan, Zhifu Island and other places all joined forces to prepare food, clothing, and medicinal materials separately. , coal, and even civilian husbands who went out with the army, etc., so that when the troops arrive at these places northward, they can complete the supply operation along the way, which is far more efficient than starting after completing all the supplies in Sanya.

Although Li Xi has stated on behalf of North Korea that he will try his best to provide supplies for the coalition forces fighting in North Korea, the Ministry of National Defense still dare not be careless about this and pin their hopes on North Korea for the source of supplies.According to the estimates of the Ministry of National Defense, the coalition forces have to prepare the supplies they need for at least two months, so as to allow enough buffer time to raise supplies in the northern region, so that any changes will not have a big impact.

Because Haihan has large and small military operations overseas all year round, in addition to having a certain number of garrisons in the colonies, they will also keep various quantities of combat materials for a long time in case of emergencies.However, almost all of the combat troops going north this time were the elite of the army, so the Ministry of National Defense also required all localities to check the quality of supplies to ensure that the performance of these troops on the battlefield would not be affected by logistical problems.

Of course, the Ministry of National Defense will issue such an order. On the one hand, it is to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops. On the other hand, it is also because a sum of money has been collected from the North Koreans before departure, and the funds are relatively abundant.Although the money has to wait for the Haihan army to go to North Korea before it can be pocketed, but the North Korean side dare not turn their backs and deny the account. After all, if you want to invite the Haihan army to help North Korea, you have to show something. Li Xi promised that the 2000 taels of gold was only an upfront fee. If troops were to be stationed in North Korea for long-term operations, then this amount of money would be far from enough.

However, this arrangement of the Ministry of National Defense has invisibly brought oil and water to the logistics departments in various places. Departments that provide logistical support, as well as civilian suppliers that provide various military supplies, will also make a lot of money at this time.Of course, the easiest way to get money in this process is the quartermaster who handles these affairs, and he can get a lot of money with a nod.

Quartermasters do not need to deliberately lower procurement standards, as long as they choose a supplier that has been offered in advance under the same conditions, there will naturally be rebates that will enter their pockets through hidden channels afterwards.This kind of operation is not new, it has existed since ancient times, as long as the procurement standards are well controlled, and the purchased items are not allowed to overturn due to quality problems, generally no one will go into the process of the military’s designated suppliers. Details matter.

With the improvement of Haihan's military system, the procurement of military materials has also begun to evolve in the direction of standardized operations. Bidding has become the current military procurement process.As long as the amount of purchased materials exceeds a certain amount, it is necessary to complete the selection of suppliers and the approval of procurement contracts through bidding procedures.

However, this does not mean that the way of bidding is completely free of tricks. In fact, most of the business of purchasing military supplies has been monopolized by a few related households. After such a seemingly formal procedure, in fact The choice of suppliers will not be widened by this.Of course, standardization also has the benefits of standardization. First of all, all procurement content and handlers will be recorded in detail. Once a problem occurs, the root cause will be traced quickly; secondly, with such a process of comparing goods and prices, handlers and suppliers Even if you want to make a profit from it, you won't make it too outrageous, at least you don't dare to use some inferior goods as new ones.

As long as things can be done properly and there are no leaks, and the handlers and suppliers want to benefit from it, the higher-ups generally turn a blind eye and close their eyes and will not pursue these details.But the premise is that there should be no problems with the purchased materials, otherwise, you will have to go to a military court afterwards.

Zhejiang Zhoushan Dinghai Port is not the largest among Haihan's overseas colonies, not even ranked in the top three, but its geographical location is close to the most affluent Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions in Ming Dynasty, and the sea import and export business is extremely developed. The well-informed merchants of the Ming Dynasty called this place "Little Sanya", which means that the prosperity of the market here is comparable to the capital of Haihan.In terms of trade volume alone, this place is definitely the champion of Haihan's overseas colonies.

Since Zhoushan is close to the land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, it is more convenient to raise food and grass. The Ministry of National Defense assigned the Zhoushan authorities to be responsible for preparing military rations for the troops going north. Just 20 catties of rice should be prepared. , It should be enough to consume the combat troops for two months.This is only the first batch of procurement lists. If the war in the north is stalemate, or North Korea's support for logistics is not satisfactory, then it will definitely purchase a large amount of military supplies from Zhejiang in the future.

Such an errand, of course, does not need Zhoushan's top leader, Shi Diwen, to operate it himself. He ordered it to go down, and the people from the garrison's military supplies department ran up and down, contacted the source of goods, organized bidding, and arranged for the delivery of goods.What he really needs to do in person is to review the material purchase contract, and then sign it for the financial department to allocate funds.

It's not that Shi Diwen is too lazy to take care of such trivial matters, but that he is really too busy.Since Zhoushan was brought under the rule of Haihan in 1633, he has monopolized the military and political power.Although other high-ranking Haihan officials stayed here occasionally during the period, at most they only took care of some affairs for him, but no one came to take over the management of civil affairs and business affairs from him.This made Shi Diwen, although he was a general of the Ministry of National Defense, had stayed in Zhoushan for three years without moving, and had completely become a local administrator.

It's not that the executive committee didn't consider deploying manpower here in the past to liberate Shi Diwen from the tedious civil affairs, but this has not been going smoothly.Although there are hundreds of people in the time-traveling team, most of them are good at technology, not to mention managing a city, and there are not many people who have been village and town cadres.Being an official in an agency in Sanya is okay, but it is often beyond your capabilities to be a local official in a ruling area far away from Sanya, and many people may not be willing to stay away from the comfort zone of Sanya for a long time, running thousands of miles away. Going out to experience official addiction.

People who really have the ability to govern the local area have basically emerged in the past ten years, and have been assigned to govern in various places one after another.Nowadays, most places are full of carrots and pits, and the transfer of a position will cause a chain reaction, and it is also difficult to arrange the executive committee.

There are also some personnel who are capable enough for this job, but they cannot get out of their positions at all, such as Cai Jinmei under Schneider, or Cai Hongzhan and Liu Shanxia from the Ministry of Construction, Wu Zhuo and Meng He from the Ministry of Information Industry, These people all have certain project management capabilities, and it is not too difficult to transform into local officials, but their original positions are too professional, and no one can take over after they leave, so they can only give up.

After going back and forth like this, Shi Diwen took root in Zhoushan, and even married Qu Yutong, the prefect of Ningbo, and his relationship with the local government of Zhejiang became closer.Shi Diwen's network channels in Zhejiang, it may be difficult for another official to reach the same level in three to five or seven years, and it is also one of the guarantees for Haihan's trade scale in Zhejiang to increase year by year.Considering that Zhoushan, a trade window and strategic location, needs to be in a stable state for a long time, the executive committee will not easily change Shi Diwen's position.

Similar to other areas on the coast of Daming under the control of Haihan, the merchants with the largest trading volume with Haihan often have official backgrounds.For example, the firm in Ningbo that undertook the supply of military supplies for the Zhoushan garrison was headed by He Li, the younger brother of He Xiao, Qu Yutong's aide.

Of course, the trade between the He brothers and Haihan was not limited to military supplies. In fact, many goods entering and leaving the Ningbo port, even shipping, were more or less handled by them.

To be able to achieve this level, the energy of the two brothers alone is definitely not enough, so a considerable part of the income earned through these channels must be handed over to the prefect Qu Yutong's pocket.To put it bluntly, the two brothers are actually the magistrate's traders, and Haihan has Shi Diwen to escort their business, so the operation is naturally very smooth.

This mode of operation is not uncommon in the Ming local government that Haihan came into contact with. Generally speaking, the most direct and effective way to open a coastal state capital to trade is to let the local administrative officials become the beneficiaries of trade. Binding their personal interests with the trade between the two countries, very few people can resist such a huge temptation.

However, it took less than a year for Ningbo Mansion to transform from a crisis-ridden frontier position when Haihan first came to a near-water trade hotspot. It has already surpassed their previous possessions by several times.As for Qu Yutong, the magistrate, even if he retires now, his wealth is probably enough to buy an island off the coast of Ningbo Prefecture and become the owner of the island for retirement.

Of course, no one would think too much of such things as money, especially with such unique business conditions, the He Brothers would not easily let go and give up the opportunity to make money to others.So after they received the latest bidding notice for military supplies from Zhoushan, the brothers immediately began to study the content.

Although it is a sure thing to win Haihan's order, they also know that the military supplies purchased by Haihan are quite demanding. Going to Shi Diwen's side will also be rejected.In addition, these materials are not directly provided by them, but they have to organize the source of goods by themselves. During the period, personnel costs, surface and land freight, and damage to goods, etc., must also be included in the cost.

"20 catties of rice... Tsk tsk, Haihan is probably going to do something again!" He Li looked at the amount on the order and couldn't help but start guessing.

He Xiao also deeply agrees with this: "I remember that the Haihan Army sent troops to fight Liaodong two years ago. At that time, they also ordered hundreds of thousands of catties of grain from Zhejiang. Later, I heard that some of them were shipped to rescue the soldiers and civilians of Dongjiang Town. It was considered intentional." gone."

He Li said with a smile: "The benefits Haihan gave are not for nothing. Didn't all the people in Dongjiang Town move from Pidao to Jinzhou last year? It seems that this group of people didn't plan to listen to the imperial court anymore. Don't worry. I have taken refuge with the Haihan people."

"This is understandable. After all, what can the court give Haihan people if they are given food and shelter?" He Xiao's speech was quite bold, that is, he said it in his own home. There is suspicion of disobedience.

Regarding the situation in Liaodong, although the Ming Dynasty did not issue an official notification, in fact, many well-informed people in the Ming Dynasty learned of Haihan's movements in Liaodong through some special channels.After the defeat of the Haihan army, Jin seized Jinzhou. The soldiers and civilians in Dongjiang Town, who were lonely overseas, took refuge in the Haihan people. North Korea, the vassal state most loyal to Daming, chose to form an alliance with Haihan. People have caused quite a shock.

Although the He brothers are from the Ming Dynasty, and their elder brother He Xiao is still working in the government, but they have made a fortune from Haihan in the past two years, and they don't have much ill feeling towards Haihan. On the contrary, they have learned more outside Information, and gradually agree with some of Haihan's values.Haihan was willing to send troops to Liaodong to fight against the Jurchens. No matter what the purpose was, objectively, it relieved Ming's external military pressure and accomplished what the court wanted to do but was unable to do.As for Dongjiang Town's army and civilians choosing to join Haihan, it was purely for survival considerations, and there was nothing to say. Even the court could only suffer this dumb loss in silence, instead of listing Dongjiang Town as a rebel.

It has been more than a year since the Zhoushan authorities last purchased a large amount of grain and grass, and the appearance of this order immediately reminded them of Haihan's offensive in Liaodong last spring.After all, in terms of the purchase volume on the order, it has far exceeded the needs of the Zhoushan garrison, which can only mean that a large number of troops will be stationed in Zhoushan in the near future, or pass through here to go north.

"20 catties is not too much. We have more than ten days to pay the grain. We can raise some locally and buy some grain from Jiaxing and Shaoxing. We should be able to make up the amount they need soon. "He Li is not as concerned about politics as his elder brother. He is more concerned about completing the order as soon as possible and keeping the money in his pocket.

(End of this chapter)