1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 217: Viet Nam Strategy
It’s okay to buy and sell private salt. It’s nothing more than trying to increase the production capacity of the salt field at Shengli Port, and the monthly trading volume of [-] tons is no pressure for the current cargo fleet with eight sea-going ships of [-] materials. , this weight only needs to be shipped on one ship.Now that the other party has already offered a very generous price, this is simply fat meat delivered to his mouth, so Heitu Port naturally agrees first.However, the sale of arms involves too many aspects, and the management committee of Heitu Port dare not make decisions privately, so it first reported the news and waited for the executive committee to make a decision.

For the executive committee, this is really great news.Arms sales to Vietnam were originally one of the foreign trade strategies that various departments brainstormed and formulated at the beginning of the time travel. The North-South Civil War in Vietnam, which lasted for several years, was definitely a very good arms export opportunity for the time travel group that needed to quickly accumulate the first pot of gold. .Although the export of arms is similar to the export of salt in terms of commercial nature, its political and military significance is very different from that of salt trade.

Several senior executives of the executive committee had already unified their understanding when formulating the development strategy before the time-traveling. They believed that the future time-traveling group would definitely not be limited to Hainan Island. It would be a matter of time before it would expand globally. How to control other regimes in China is a matter worth studying.Like the Mongols, every time they conquered a place, they would kill and kill them, killing them completely. This kind of brainless genocide is obviously not an acceptable method for the Transversal Group.The Executive Committee believes that, similar to the great powers of the later generations, exerting military and economic control over the contracting states, allies, and slave states is a more desirable solution for the future development of the Traveling Group.

This method is far less costly than relying on war to conquer the other side, and it is less likely to arouse ethnic hatred. It is in line with the comprehensive expansion plan of "cultural stage, economic drama, and military control" in the minds of the Executive Committee.In addition, the time travel group has a large amount of Zenith Star technology in its hands, so it is relatively less difficult to implement this plan. The technological gap of nearly 400 years is beyond the reach of other regimes in this time and space.Compared with the large and unshakable Ming Empire, the smaller Nanyang countries are undoubtedly the best test field for this expansion plan.

When the military industry department is constantly trial-producing new equipment, almost every type of weapon has developed a self-use version and a foreign trade export version at the same time.The last time Li Nai visited Victory Port, the Transit Group had successfully sold the first batch of monkey version artillery specially designed for export. This kind of artillery not only has a shorter range than the self-use version, but also the designed service life is probably only for self-use. The most terrible thing is that if you don't need to pass through the special granular gunpowder and fire tube made by the military industry department of the group, then the actual combat effectiveness of this monkey version of the artillery will be greatly affected.If the party who bought the guns wanted to maintain the normal combat effectiveness of these guns, they had to buy these expensive accessories from the time-traveling group for a long time, and the same was true for muskets.

In this way, although the forces using Haihan weapons seem to have greatly increased their military strength, they will always be subject to the crossing group due to subsequent ammunition supply problems.Moreover, from an economic point of view, this kind of follow-up cost should not be underestimated. According to the calculations of the military industry department, the follow-up ammunition cost of the monkey version weapon within the normal service life will definitely not be lower than the initial purchase price, and the actual cost of the ammunition The cost will not be higher than the weapon itself, which is almost equivalent to selling a batch of weapons to make money twice.

Compared with the Fujian side at this time, which was dominated by naval battles and fought intermittently, the scale of the civil war in Vietnam, which had been stalemate for several years and caused millions of casualties, was undoubtedly much larger.Although the monkey soldiers in Vietnam are still equipped with a large number of bamboo and wood weapons at this time, and firearms are rarely used on the battlefield, this is good news for the Crossing Group, because it means a blank market with huge potential It was placed in front of the crossing group.What's more, the historical consultant Ning Qi also pointed out that the French missionaries should have started their activities in southern Vietnam at this time, and soon muskets from Europe will appear on the battlefield of the civil war. Even soup cannot be left to the Western powers.

Unlike the predecessors who were eager to go north to participate in the competition in the Central Plains, the Executive Committee believes that the foothold of Haihan Traveling Group should first focus on the South China Sea, and then consider seizing power in the mainland after it develops to a certain scale.The so-called certain scale can be simply understood as population and resources.According to the calculations of the Executive Committee, to participate in the continental hegemony, at least more than [-] army soldiers and a navy capable of controlling the waters south of the Yangtze River Estuary are needed, and this scale will continue to expand as the occupied area increases.However, the population base required to support so many soldiers is huge, and the existing population of Hainan Island is still far behind.Without enough population, even if the Crossing Group had coal and iron under its name, it would be difficult to have enough productivity to supply such a huge army with supplies.

In view of such realistic conditions, in the development plan formulated by the executive committee, the first and foremost task is population input, and the second is resources. First, there must be productivity, and then there will be combat effectiveness.

Since the crossing, the main channel of population input has always been from Yazhou.According to the latest census statistics released by the human resources department in September, the current population of naturalized people in the area under the control of the Crossing Group has exceeded the 75 mark, and about [-]% of them are from the Yazhou area, including Congya Including the exiled prisoners imported from Zhoucheng and the mountain people of the Li and Miao ethnic groups.

10% of the people came from Danzhou, Qiongzhou Fucheng, Wenchang and other places in the north of Yazhou. These immigrants were mainly organized by various merchants and tooth banks contacted by the Yazhou Office, and even Luo Shengdong's subordinates were among them. Soldiers' families.Now Luo Shengdong has not only made a fortune by making private salt, but also the group of people who follow him have also made a lot of money.Of course, these people knew that if they were caught doing this business, they would have to lose their heads, and their family members would also be implicated, so some bold simply moved their entire family to Victory Port to settle down.They are very aware of the policies of the Haihan people. As long as they are obedient and do things, they will definitely not be hungry when they arrive at Shengli Port. The Haihan people will arrange everything such as food, clothing, housing and transportation.Even Luo Shengdong asked a few familiar executive members several times, wondering when there would be real estate for sale in Shengli Harbor, and he was going to set up a foothold here just in case.

Another 10% of the people are from Vietnam. These people basically arrived at Heitu Port first, and then came to Shengli Port on a coal ship.Compared with those people who stayed in Black Earth Port, these people who were able to come to the base camp were undoubtedly more fortunate.Most of these people are war orphans selected by the Black Earth Port Management Committee in accordance with the requirements of the Executive Committee. After arriving in the local area, they will be directly assigned to the scout camp after going through the purification procedures of sanitary isolation and become a member of the Haihan military system. member.

The remaining 5% are immigrants from the mainland. These people are basically down-and-out craftsmen recruited by "Furuifeng". Among them is Zhang Tiangui, the chief naturalized technician of the current shipyard.There are not many people in this group, but most of them have special skills, and they soon got better living conditions after they came to Victory Port.

As for the hundred or so survivors in the labor camp, according to the "Regulations on the Administration of Naturalized Citizens" formulated by the Executive Committee, these people do not enjoy the rights of naturalized citizens, and they will not be included in the population statistics. Go to the Huamin data.

In addition to these naturalized people, there are currently about five or six hundred people in the Shengli Port area who have not yet obtained the qualifications for naturalized people.Some of these people are mountain people who are only willing to engage in short-term work, and the other part has not yet completed the sanitary isolation procedures after arriving in Hong Kong.These people plus the more than 400 time-traveling members of the Traveling Group made the actual total population of the area controlled by the Traveling Group exceed 4000.

Six months, 4000 people, this is the population status after half a year.For the Executive Committee, this speed is slightly faster than the previous estimate. It was originally thought that this figure would not be reached until the end of the year at least, but now it has been realized two months earlier.However, the population is still far from sufficient for the current rate of production development.Not to mention anything else, just the new saltworks development plan of Iron Furnace Harbor requires at least 500 people, and the current establishment of the Saltworks Commune is only about 500 people, and the human resources department headed by Ning Qi is having a headache for this endlessly.

How to obtain a large number of people in a short period of time is a subject that the relevant departments have been studying before and after crossing.The population distribution in the north and south of Hainan Island is uneven. Most of the population is in the north, and the population in the south is relatively small. If the Crossing Group really wants to acquire a large number of people at once, the only way to attack Yazhou City is probably.However, this idea is obviously unrealistic. Becoming an enemy of Daming is not the choice that the time travel group should make at present, and the existence of the local government in Yazhou can also cover the crossing group that has not yet fully fledged. Attacking Yazhou is technically difficult to achieve Not big, but the practical significance is that the harm outweighs the benefit.

In the same way, it is almost impossible to obtain a large number of people from any city on Hainan Island in a short period of time. Although there are so many people who take boats from the north to settle in Victory Harbor every month, But this speed is indeed too slow for the Traveling Group.

After leaving Hainan Island, there are only two places closest to it, one is the mainland and the other is Vietnam.It is not impossible to immigrate a large number of immigrants from the mainland, but now South China is basically in a period of peace. If you want to let the people leave their homes and settle on an island without attracting the attention of the government, you can only lure them with benefits, but this is undoubtedly The cost of immigration will be greatly increased.Therefore, the current executive committee's immigration policy to the mainland is still based on artisans and sailors, supplemented by the charitable organization set up by the Guangzhou Office in Guangzhou to collect immigrants from the mainland on a small scale in a targeted manner.In terms of the current transport capacity between the two places and the influence of the Guangzhou Office, the number of immigrants who can be sent back to Shengli Port every month is probably only a few hundred.

Looking at another direction, the cost of crossing groups immigrating from Vietnam is relatively low. The civil war caused a large number of war refugees to flee from the war zone.In the first month of the development of Heitu Port, more than [-] refugees have been recruited from the coastal areas of Vietnam, and the population growth rate has greatly exceeded that of the base camp.According to the comprehensive analysis of relevant departments, because of the protracted civil war in Vietnam, there is still a great potential to acquire immigrants from the local area.These refugees who fled their homes often have to choose to board the sea boats of the crossing group to go to the black soil port or the victory port for a stable environment, and what the crossing group needs to pay is only the freight and food consumption on the road. Speaking of it, it is even lower than the immigration cost of Yazhou prisoners-the introduction of those exiled prisoners with relatively minor crimes from Yazhou has to be returned to the Yazhou government based on the number of heads.

Another benefit of Vietnamese immigrants that cannot be ignored is the sense of cultural closeness and identity.Most of these immigrants speak the dialects of Guangdong and Guangxi, and there is no major language barrier. This is more beneficial to arrange their production and life in the Shengli Port area, and it is easier to integrate into the local society.Although in the early days there were still a group of haters headed by Yan Chujie who held objections, but when these people saw that the Vietnamese immigrants brought back were almost the same as the Ming people in Guangdong and Guangxi in terms of clothing, appearance and language. , and even a considerable number of people can directly communicate in Chinese, and this objection gradually disappears.After all, Vietnam at this time does not even have its own language, and these immigrants will no longer have any national characteristics that can be maintained after they come to Victory Port.

With the development of trade with the North Vietnamese regime, the Executive Committee believes that just relying on a few coal ships to pull people back once or twice a month can no longer meet the needs of the increasingly accelerated local development, and must find ways to improve Vietnam's immigration input efficiency is the only way.And the best way may have to start with trade means, such as directly exchanging salt or arms for population.

Of course, in the final analysis, trade is only a means. To solve the immigration problem, we still have to look at it from a higher perspective.Exchanging commodities for population is only a relatively low-grade solution. The Executive Committee believes that the relationship with Vietnam should be viewed a little farther—simply think about how to control the situation in Vietnam so that the local regime can be more "voluntary" "The population will be transported to Haihan.

In this way, the question goes back to the beginning, how the time-traveling group should control the external regime, whether to fight or pull or control, how to start and what means to achieve the goal of control.

To control the situation in Vietnam, there are only a few ways mentioned before, politics, economy, culture, and military.The road of politics can be regarded as a dead end for the current Vietnam. Regardless of the north and the south, powerful ministers are now in power. They don’t even sell the face of their own emperor. How can it be possible for foreign forces to easily intervene in the domestic political situation, so this road The road is almost impassable.

Economically, there are many ways. For example, the current smuggling of salt is a good channel for intervention.But the problem is that achieving economic influence through trade is not something that can be achieved overnight. Not to mention that the salt production capacity of the Transit Group is still very limited. Still unlikely to happen.Only when the products are diversified in the future and Haihan's economic system is gradually introduced in the trade with Vietnam, will it be possible to gradually exert influence on its regime with the help of some financial means.

And culture, like the economy, is also a soft means with slow results, and it is difficult to see results without several years of work.The French had been preaching in Vietnam since the beginning of the 17th century, and began to establish influence locally through cultural import. However, until the French-Vietnamese War broke out 200 years later, the effect of this cultural import was still not obvious, and the French invaders still It encountered tenacious resistance from the guerrillas organized by the local people.And this war also fully demonstrates that it will be difficult for foreign colonists to subdue this country that is soft on the outside and strong on the inside by relying on purely cultural or military means.

Of course, the Executive Committee, who has hundreds of years of experience, still has a military method at its disposal, which is to control the opponent's armament.This is a method commonly used by technologically advanced military powers in later generations. Whether it is selling or aiding, controlling a regime's armaments to exert influence on its domestic political situation can be regarded as a relatively peaceful military strategy. Control methods, supplemented by the establishment of military bases, the formulation of common defense plans, etc., can effectively control some relatively weak regimes.

At the beginning, the Executive Committee had such a plan for the arms export trade, but now that Heitu Port has sent back the news that the other party intends to purchase arms, it has undoubtedly provided an opportunity for this strategic method to be implemented.Regardless of economic, political or military considerations, the Traveling Group cannot let go of such a good opportunity to intervene in Vietnam's political situation.And the next question is to send people to negotiate with the Vietnamese, what kind of arms the other side needs, how should we price them, what is the transaction method, and what conditions should we impose on this kind of arms trade, all of which have to wait. The dispatched representative can make a decision only after negotiating with the Vietnamese side.

When it comes to business, Schneider is the first choice in the group, but Schneider is also busy in Guangzhou now, and he has no way to get out for a while.Besides, even if they wanted to pick him up, it would still take about a week to send the fast sailing boat back and forth. The executive committee didn't intend to wait so long in vain.After internal discussions, the executive committee decided to organize a special inspection team to go to Vietnam to discuss this matter, and out of prudent considerations, this inspection team will be led by Tao Donglai himself, so that some important issues can be discussed during the negotiation process. Decisions are made on the spot.Of course, in order to implement the spirit of democracy, this decision-making power is also a temporary decision-making power sold to Tao Donglai after the executive committee votes.

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(End of this chapter)