1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2637
In the next few days, Tao Hongfang and others, who were not on business, continued to travel around the island, and Zhu Zian, who was with them, also took this opportunity to gain a lot of insight.

Although the urban area of ​​Zhoushan is not as big as Hangzhou, in terms of commercial atmosphere, it is more prosperous than Hangzhou.Here, Zhu Zian saw foreign caravans coming from south to north, as well as many unheard of commodities, and truly felt the size of the world.

Zhu Zian now has no doubt that with Haihan's governance ability, he will be able to replicate the prosperity of Zhoushan to other places.He even thought that if Daming put down his airs in the early years and cooperated with Haihan to develop trade, maybe he would not be weak in coping with internal and external troubles due to lack of money.

Zhu Zian still doesn't understand at this time, the reason for the decline of Ming Dynasty is very complicated, not just a lack of money.And Haihan's rapid rise in the South China Sea region is by no means as simple as being good at doing business and making money.However, the difference in governance ability between the two countries is indeed visible to the naked eye, even a rookie like Zhu Zian who has no experience in governance can perceive this.

As Zhu Zi'an's new owner, the Donghai District officials sent him a sum of money in the name of "living allowance" before leaving Hangzhou.This amount of money is not much, but it is actually quite a lot, almost enough for him to buy a single family residence in Zhoushan.

Of course, Zhu Zian did not intend to settle down in Zhoushan. Tao Hongfang suggested that he could buy some clothes and daily necessities he needed for use during the mission.

Because of his family's decline, Zhu Zi'an was not the kind of aristocratic child who was completely ignorant of the world, and he didn't have to entrust others to purchase supplies for him.Zhu Zian spent half a day going to the city to buy some daily necessities, and brought them back to his residence in large and small bags.Most of the money was left, and after consulting Tao Hongfang and others, Zhu Zian went to Haihan Bank to open an account and deposited the rest in it.

After spending a short vacation on Zhoushan Island, all preparations were completed one by one, and the time for the mission's departure finally arrived.As the official representative, Yang Zhan came to the pier to see them off. At the same time, he also brought a telegram from Shi Diwen and read it to everyone on his behalf.

Shi Diwen mentioned in the message that the main purpose of this mission is to cooperate with the garrison to change defenses, and it does not require them to achieve any results in diplomacy, so they should not act rashly.

It is also reasonable for Shi Diwen to have such an order. After all, this dispatch is all under the command of the younger generation such as Shi Chengwu and Wang Anguo. This is also the first time they have carried out such a complicated task overseas alone.

The operation included both diplomatic and military tasks, and it was quite a test for the young officials. Naturally, the main purpose was to complete the tasks and accumulate experience, and Shi Diwen did not set any other goals for them.

Of course, this is just a telegram that was read out publicly. As for Shi Diwen's other plans for this operation in private, probably only Shi Chengwu knows.

After Yang Yun finished reading, he stepped forward and handed the telegram to Shi Chengwu, and said in his mouth: "All young and handsome people are the pillars of our country. When you go overseas this time, you should always put the country's interests first, and don't do it because of your own selfishness. Act on the spur of the moment. After everyone returns safely, Yang will hold a banquet in Zhoushan to clean up the dust for everyone!"

Everyone bowed their hands to thank each other, and then they boarded the boat one file at a time.

For Haihan, whether it was diplomatic activities or the transfer of overseas troops, it was just an extremely ordinary job, but this operation had a special feature, that is, there were many children of high-ranking Haihan officials in the team.

Arranging these noble children to go overseas to perform missions, in addition to exercising their abilities, is of course also taking this opportunity to gild their resumes.If the task can be successfully completed, Tao Hongfang and others, including those who took the ride this time, can add a beautiful record to their personal resumes.

In order to ensure absolute safety during the mission, Shi Diwen dispatched his elite troops without hesitation. Not only did Zhoushan, the first glorious-class ship that had just entered the ranks, serve as the flagship of the joint fleet, but he also dispatched two ships built in the early years Warrior-class ironclad gunship.

The combat power of these three ships alone is probably equivalent to an entire armed fleet of other countries, and should be sufficient to deal with armed conflicts at sea in various emergencies.

In addition, more than ten warships of various types will be stationed in North Korea and Japan to participate in this defense change mission. In addition to many warships belonging to the North American Fleet, the strength of the entire combined fleet has even exceeded It surpassed the fleet that expeditioned to Hirado that year.Shi Diwen is convinced that such a lineup should be enough to form an effective military deterrent to North Korea and Japan.

In order to make Tao Hongfang and others more comfortable during the voyage, Sanya specially transferred the official ship that they took when they were going north to Zhoushan to participate in this mission.The facilities on board are complete, and the living space is relatively comfortable, which can be said to be a hundred times better than that of a warship.But Zhu Zian was more uncomfortable. Because of his mission, he could only live with Shi Chengwu and Wang Anguo on the flagship Zhoushan.

But fortunately, the hull of the Zhoushan is big enough, and the living space is much better than that of the warship that came to Zhoushan from Hangzhou.Zhu Zian thought he was going to sleep in the small space next to the corridor on the second deck, and was prepared to endure hardships, but Shi Chengwu arranged for him a cabin for two, living with the second officer on the ship, It can be regarded as giving him special care.

Zhu Zian's luggage had already been delivered to the cabin, and he only went to the cabin to check the environment before returning to the deck.

The ships docked at the port set sail one after another, and many sailors and crew members who were not on duty rushed to the side of the ship, waving goodbye to relatives, friends and onlookers on the shore.Although Zhu Zian had no relatives or friends in Zhoushan, affected by the atmosphere, he couldn't help standing on the side of the boat and waving his arms, bidding farewell to this place where he lived for ten days.

At this time, the irrelevant ships inside and outside the harbor have also avoided far away, giving way to the channel, and watching this huge fleet go out.

The fleet sailed out of the harbor from the Luotoumen waterway from east to west, then turned around and sailed north along the west coast of Zhoushan Island. After passing through the waters of the Yangtze River Estuary, it then adjusted its direction and sailed northeast. The first destination will be Jeju, North Korea. island.

Zhu Zian watched the excitement on the deck for a while, and when the port drifted away and the sailors returned to their positions, his excitement gradually calmed down.He remembered that he still had missions on the ship, so he immediately went to the command center on the bridge to join Shi Chengwu and others.

(End of this chapter)