1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2103
Mountain forests occupy [-]% of the area on Zhoushan Island, which also makes the area suitable for building commercial areas relatively limited, mainly concentrated on the south side of the island, and the coast near Dinghai Port has become the most prosperous because of its geographical advantage close to the port. business district.

If foreign businessmen want to purchase land and properties in this area, it is not only a problem that can be solved by money. Zhoushan authorities have corresponding regulations on their family background, business projects, land purchase purposes, etc.Ma Zhengping had heard a few words from Yang Yun during his previous meeting, but he hadn't had an in-depth exchange on this topic, so when he saw someone building a house, he wanted to get closer to see if he could chat with the person in charge. Sentence, look at the threshold in this regard.

However, after Ma Zhengping went up to chat for a while, he realized that the owner of this construction site was not here. He was invited to the luncheon held by the Zhoushan Management Committee. Obviously, he was also a big businessman who was acquainted with Haihan officials.But he refused to give up. After talking with the craftsmen on the construction site, he finally found the foreman who was in charge of directing the construction of the construction site.

"Do you want to buy land and build a commercial storehouse on the island? Then you have to go to the management committee to apply for the land first." The foreman named Mu Jian was very enthusiastic about Ma Zhengping's inquiry on the island: "You go to the yamen where the management committee works. , find the business department, register your identity information and construction plan, and then wait for the notification. The business department will inform you when there is a suitable land, and then start the material preparation and construction. If you don’t have a familiar construction team, you can also Come find us."

Having said that, Mu Jian pointed to an inconspicuous signboard hanging on the construction site and said: "We are an engineering team under the management committee, and we have a construction qualification certificate issued by the Ministry of Construction of Haihan State, similar to building a commercial warehouse. Buying and selling, as long as we have a construction period, we will accept it."

Ma Zhengping didn't quite understand some of the proper nouns mentioned by Mu Jian, but he could understand the general meaning. He had to go to the yamen to register and wait for the official land allocation, and then he went to the construction team to build the storehouse.However, after following this set of procedures, I am afraid that it will not be possible to get the land and start construction within three to five days.

Ma Zhengping tentatively asked: "Then if you don't consider how much it will cost, can you buy as much land as you want?"

Mu Jian laughed and said, "How is that possible? Even businessmen from our Haihan Kingdom have to follow the rules."

Ma Zhengping hastily cupped his hands and said, "I would like to hear more about it."

"It's very simple, it is graded according to the volume of trade. The larger the business you do, the larger the land area you can apply for. For example, at the construction site we are building, the owner completes 5 taels of transactions in Zhoushan Island every year. If you have more than silver, you can apply for the piece of land you see. The land in the port area can only be used for commercial purposes. If you want to settle down and build a house, you have to apply for other places on the island." Mu Jian explained succinctly Let’s look at the general rules of land purchase, and add a sentence at the end: “Of course, domestic businessmen can enjoy certain preferential treatment, and they can apply for larger land under the same conditions.”

Ma Zhengping said: "Then I'm a newcomer, and I haven't run a business on Zhoushan Island before, so what should I do?"

Mu Jianying said: "That's easy. You propose the level of trade you can achieve, and replace it with a land lease in the first year. If the promised standard is not reached, the land rent will be greatly increased in the next year, and this piece of land is still not good enough. It will be registered in your name. If it is achieved, you can pay to buy the land that year."

Ma Zhengping got a headache when he heard it, so he asked again: "Is there an easier way, that is, a one-shot deal without delaying for an extra year."

"Yes, pay a deposit to the management committee. As long as you pay enough deposit, you can buy land at the highest trade level for the first time, and the deposit will be refunded after a certain number of years of local operation." Mu Jian followed his request, Yet another solution was given.

"That's good!" Ma Zhengping finally heard a condition that suits him.For him, the problems that can be solved with money are not problems, it is nothing more than spending a little more money. He has a large amount of money on board the boat he took to Zhoushan this time, and he was planning to spend it on various relationships here. Yes, if the construction of the storehouse can also be finalized, then the efficiency of this trip can be regarded as quite high.

In fact, the deposit can be regarded as a threshold set by the government, and it is mainly used to dissuade those foreign businessmen who are not strong enough or have no long-term plans to operate in Zhoushan.After all, with the increasing prosperity of Dinghai Port, the land in the port area will only become less and less, and the corresponding land price will rise higher and higher. It is the most reasonable plan to reserve the limited land for long-term operation of powerful merchants.

The purpose of businessmen like Ma Zhengping buying land and properties in Zhoushan Island is not to settle down, nor is it entirely for business needs. To a certain extent, they want to use this to establish a stable relationship and news channels with Haihan officials.As for the business in the salt industry, Ma Zhengping actually inquired clearly before coming here that Haihan sells private salt to salt merchants directly from the salt field, and Zhoushan is only responsible for the settlement of money, so there is no need to build a large scale Huge storehouses are used to collect goods.

Of course, in order to show strength and cooperation sincerity, Ma Zhengping is still willing to spend a little more money and build a relatively large-scale commercial store here. At worst, the commercial store will build an extra yard in the name of high-end rooms as a Your own private house, so you don't have to build a residence elsewhere on the island.Anyway, I shouldn't come here a few times a year, as long as I have a place to stay.

In fact, most of the merchants who buy property on the island do the same thing. Although the Zhoushan authorities have planned all the land in the port area as commercial land, it is impossible to prohibit these merchants from living in the shops or warehouses they built. Therefore, there are not many outsiders who actually set up land and build houses on the island. In fact, the residents in the marked-out residential areas are basically fishermen, military members and other practitioners on the island.

Seeing that it was already lunch time, Ma Zhengping took the initiative to invite Mu Jian to have lunch, saying that he wanted to learn more about the details of hiring an engineering team to build the storehouse.Seeing that Mu Jian had a business visit, and Ma Zhengping's clothes looked expensive, and he didn't look like he was joking, so he immediately agreed.

After this lunch, Ma Zhengping also learned more about related affairs.The official engineering team can not only complete the construction tasks, but also undertake the preliminary design work and purchase various building materials.Moreover, Mu Jian also gave Ma Zhengping a guarantee that as long as he is willing to hire an engineering team to build the storehouse, then Mu Jian can also teach him how to complete various procedures for applying for land purchase as quickly as possible, and handle it on his behalf. From the application to the start of the process, there may be various relationships that need to be managed.

It was naturally Ma Zhengping's dream to have an expert guide the way. This would save him the time of looking around.As for why Mu Jian took the initiative, Ma Zhengping certainly knew it well. Although the industries were different, they were all businessmen in essence, and they were all seeking money after all.Ma Zhengping didn't dare to say anything about other conditions, but the money would definitely be enough—local officials at all levels in Yangzhou could feed them well, not to mention a small contractor on Zhoushan Island.

Ma Zhengping even asked his followers to take two ingots of grain silver, handed them to Mu Jian as a deposit, and entrusted him with full responsibility for the business related to the store.Moreover, Ma Zhengping said that after the event is completed, there will be another big thank you, and he will never let Mu Jian down.

Seeing that Ma Zhengping made a big deal, Mu Jian knew that he was lucky enough to meet a nobleman, so he immediately reminded Ma Zhengping to go to the Haihan Bank on the island to exchange some Haihan banknotes. It's so convenient, when you buy building materials, settle wages, and all kinds of expenses, you have to use the banknotes issued by Haihan Bank.

The difference in currency in circulation also made Ma Zhengping feel more clearly that this place was no longer Daming, but the territory of Haihan Kingdom.However, he has no objection to the use of banknotes. In his opinion, this is actually the same thing as the banknotes issued by the bank. It is just that Haihan Bank is the treasury of Haihan State rather than privately owned. Its credit must be Far better than private institutions.

After finalizing this matter, Ma Zhengping was in a good mood, thinking that he should be able to finish all the affairs soon and return to Yangzhou during his trip.But things didn't go as smoothly as he expected. The next day, he and Mu Jian went to the management committee's location to apply for land registration. The officials in charge told them that because of some recent policy adjustments, foreign merchants can only register for the time being. Land cannot be allocated, even if a security deposit is paid.And this adjustment period is as fast as one or two months, and it's hard to say if it's slow. In short, he couldn't apply for the land in the port area as soon as he expected.

In order to maintain the stability of Zhoushan Island during the expedition of the East China Sea Fleet, Shi Diwen asked Yang Yun to suspend the application of foreign merchants for land use in the port area, and Ma Zhengping was the first to bear the brunt of the No.1.Even if Ma Zhengping wanted to spend money on such a decision made by the big boss, no one would dare to accept it. This made Mu Jian, who had just vowed yesterday that he would help Ma Zhengping complete the registration application process, dumbfounded.

Coming out of the registration place, Mu Jian said with a little apology: "Boss Ma, this special situation is really a coincidence, why don't I refund the deposit to you first, and then I can apply for land here, and then I will help you. Follow-up projects are completed."

Ma Zhengping didn't feel sorry for the little money. He shook his head and said, "There is no need to refund the deposit. This store will be built sooner or later, and there will be troubles for you later. Just help me plan the plan first and see." How much land can I get at most, and then arrange a construction plan for me, and when the land is available in the future, I will start construction as soon as possible!"

Ma Zhengping heard that it would take such a long time to wait here, and he certainly couldn't wait for such a long time on Zhoushan Island, so he could only leave his hands on the island to watch, and entrusted Mu with all the formalities. establish.When he registered just now, he had managed to verify Mu Jian's identity with the official in charge. Since Mu Jian is an official, there is no need to worry about being cheated of money if the matter is not completed.

However, before leaving Zhoushan Island, Ma Zhengping still wanted to find Yang Yun for another activity, to see if he could get the land through Yang Yun, and also to see if he could meet Shi Diwen to clarify the matter in Yangzhou.

But when he went to see Yang Yun again, the answer he got was that the other party left Zhoushan Island to go out on business, and he would not come back at least one or two days later.In desperation, Ma Zhengping could only wait patiently on the island.

At this time, Yang Yun accompanied Shi Diwen to Zhujiajian Island, east of Zhoushan Island.On the east coast of Zhujiajian Island, there is a bay recessed into the island, and not many people know about this place.Shi Diwen came here on the second day of the National Day, mainly to meet Xu Yuzhuo, a general of the Fujian navy who arrived here secretly.

"General Xu, long time no see, how have you been?" After Shi Diwen and Xu Yuzhuo met, they bowed their hands and greeted each other.He lived in the West in his early years, but after traveling, he stayed in Zhejiang for a long time. He spent more time dealing with Ming people, and he still had some speech and behavior habits assimilated by this era.

Xu Yuzhuo also cupped his hands and exchanged greetings with him, and then the two parties began to discuss business matters.

The Fujian side has made it clear that it will send troops to participate in this attack on Hirado Island, and Xu Yuzhuo's arrival is a forerunner for this joint operation. He first came to Zhoushan to discuss the action plan with Shi Diwen, but the Fujian navy troops participating in the war did not I am eager to start, and I will wait for Haihan to confirm the date of action, and then set off from the ports of Zhangquan and Quanzhou.

For the Fujian Navy, this is not the first time that it has accompanied the Haihan Army to fight overseas, so the cooperation between the two parties also has a successful model to follow.

"This time, our Fujian Navy will dispatch 5000 warships and 200 sailors to cooperate with the Haihan Army. There will also be a troop carrier carrying [-] musketeers and artillerymen to move with the fleet. There are also logistics ships, There are about [-] ships, and they are all in line with the combat troops, following General Shi's command and deployment."

Xu Yuzhuo gave a detailed introduction to the general situation of Fujian's dispatch of troops. In terms of the scale of troops, it is definitely the largest dispatch of troops in Fujian in recent years, even exceeding the sum of the two large-scale operations of the Manila Battle and the War to Aid Korea last year. It can be seen that Fujian The degree of importance attached to this action.

Of course, this is not difficult to understand. After all, the Fujian Xu family and Shibazhi are endless enemies. The series of cases involved in the investigation this time all point to the same mastermind behind the scenes. It is basically confirmed that the Shibazhi Yu Party is planning and directing these small actions. Xu Xinsu will definitely not sit idly by and let it continue to grow and develop.Now that Haihan took the lead in sending troops, Xu Xinsu also made up his mind to take this opportunity to wipe out the Eighteen Zhiyu Party hiding in Hirado, Japan, so as to prevent future troubles.

As for whether doing so will offend the Japanese shogunate, or even trigger a war between Ming and Japan, Xu Xinsu is not too concerned about this. He is very clear that his backer is not Daming who is strong outside but has a strong military strength. Haihan.

(End of this chapter)