1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 304 The Mysterious Visitor

Although the layout of Yazhou's officialdom has not been fully realized, the influence of the Crossing Group in the Yazhou area, especially within dozens of miles around Shengli Harbor, has been so great that it cannot be added.The Yazhou government basically has no chance to intervene in military, political, and commercial affairs. More often than not, they just turn a blind eye and turn a blind eye to certain borderline behaviors of the Traveling Group.

This kind of ostrich mentality is not entirely because the Yazhou government is afraid of getting into trouble, the key is that there is no reason to intervene.The Haihan people did not rebel in Shengli Port, and they did not kill or set fire. There are patrol inspectors stationed by the Yazhou government, border troops stationed by the Yazhou Shuizhai, and the Haihan people’s own militia. The security situation is better than that in Beijing.Although the local government has implemented a tax-free policy for foreign businessmen, the income obtained by Yazhou is much higher than in previous years. Just "renting" the prisoners in Yazhou Prison to the Crossing Group as laborers, the savings here and abroad, the income The labor fee received is not a small sum.

"Qiong Lianfa" wants to carry out large-scale development in Yazhou, and it can be said that it will basically not encounter much resistance from the local government.One possible situation is that the Yazhou government will escort the development project of "Qiong Lianfa" in terms of policy, because it means that the local government will get a new "policy subsidy" from the crossing group. ".

From the time of handling the land certificates in the Shengli Port area, the Yazhou government often received various "subsidies" from Shengli Port. There must be festival subsidies for fixed annual festivals, and office subsidies for handling affairs.Among the various subsidies, the local policy to support Shengli Port received the most subsidies. For example, the Yazhou government announced three months ago that after the local people moved to Shengli Port, they would no longer bear taxes alone, but would travel through The group came forward to pay uniformly.This decree completely dispelled the concerns of some people and accelerated the immigration of Yazhou to Shengli Port.After announcing this decree, the Yazhou government immediately received 1000 taels of silver from the Yazhou Office as a "policy subsidy"-of course, how much of this money went into the official treasury and how much went into private pockets, then Only the parties know.

For a subsidy like this, the Yazhou government has received at least ten thousand taels of silver in the past year. From the bottom yamen servants to the top Zhizhou and Tongzhi, it can be said that everyone has more or less taken time travel Group benefits.Most of the officials working in Yazhou have gradually formed a consensus - the more money the Haihan people earn, the more benefits they can get. Money can't get by.

The very few official personnel who were relatively clear-headed and wary and hostile to the time-traveling group were quickly obliterated by this one-sided money offensive.After the entire Yazhou officialdom has been cleaned for nearly a year, it can be said that basically there are not many people left who are willing to fight against the Transmigration Group. It has also been bought in sevens and eighties.Gong Zongqi of Jinyiwei was transferred to Qiongzhou Prefecture a few years ago, and the Cliff Office specially sent 200 taels of silver as a congratulatory gift.The personnel of these secret service agencies don't have much money to make in the remote place of Yazhou. The wealthy Haihan people are like gods of wealth to them, so there is no need to embarrass them.

Schneider's speech to the audience was not just bragging. In fact, if the area is limited to Yazhou, what "Qiong Lianfa" can do can even be described as "do whatever you want".And some of the projects that "Qiong Lianfa" will implement at the beginning of its establishment are basically concentrated in the Yazhou area. After the crossing group's control in Yazhou is relatively stable, it will gradually expand its business scope outward.

Although Schneider's speech aroused the enthusiasm of some businessmen to participate, there were also many cautious people in the audience who questioned: "Mr. Shi, your influence in Yazhou is beyond doubt, but if the pressure in the future comes from Qiongzhou Prefecture or even Guangzhou Government, how should we deal with it?"

Schneider smiled and asked: "How did we get our influence in Yazhou? Is it purely by buying money or strong ships and guns? In fact, it is not. The reason why we were able to settle in Yazhou within a year The operation of Shengli Port to the present level is still due to our advanced system and structure.”

"Our advantage is not only applicable to Yazhou. After a while, it will also apply to Qiongzhou and Guangzhou. You can wait and see." Schneider paused and said: "I know some bosses still have doubts, so 'Joan Lianfa will implement the policy of strict entry and wide exit, and everyone can join with confidence. The so-called "strict entry" means to raise the threshold for entry, and "wide exit" means to give shareholders the freedom to withdraw. Any shareholder wants to withdraw at any time 'Joan Lianfa' will not be embarrassed, and we will not ask you the real reason for quitting, but please remember that there is only one chance to join 'Joan Lianfa', once you quit, you will never enter again Opportunity in this circle!"

Some of the merchants here figured out that this circle basically covers [-]% of the wealthy businessmen in the business circles around Guangzhou. The organization "Qiong Lianfa" is actually a small circle of top wealthy merchants. I don't know how many people want to Squeeze into this circle.

Schneider looked around and saw that no one was going to ask any more questions, so he continued to go down the process: "Then I will tell you about the company's articles of association, please listen carefully, the following content is linked to your vital interests .”

Schneider personally drafted the "Articles of Association of Qiong Lianfa Company", which focuses on the way of shareholder's capital contribution, shareholders' rights and obligations, the way of transferring equity, the company's organization and its formation method, powers and rules of procedure, and the most important Important financial and accounting management, profit distribution methods and labor employment systems.There are too many contents involved, and there will be more than forty articles in the detailed rules alone, and each article must be explained to the shareholders individually.Schneider talked from two o'clock in the afternoon until it was dark, and it was only halfway through.

In view of the fact that most people have to rush back to Guangzhou City, this course can only be continued on the next day.In the early morning of the next day, the wealthy businessmen came to the Guangzhou Office to meet again. To Schneider's great relief, none of the wealthy businessmen who participated in the symposium on the first day were absent. This means that so far, the big bosses have not Man decides to quit the game.

Today, the rich businessmen obviously asked much more questions than the previous day, and they were often more targeted. It seems that these people also put a lot of effort into thinking about the company's articles of association after going back last night. Maybe many of them stayed overnight A think tank meeting was held to discuss this matter—this can be seen from the bloodshot red eyes of many people.

Due to the increasing number of questions, Schneider's explanation speed this morning was also slower than the previous day. After eating the "secret seafood feast" arranged by the Guangzhou Office at noon, everyone continued to discuss.

However, after the symposium on the second day ended, two merchants chose to withdraw, and the number of participants was reduced from [-] to [-].However, Schneider was not discouraged at all because of this. Merchants who are willing to join after fully understanding the company's articles of association are the partners that Time Travel Group really needs.Those who are unwilling to accept the constraints of this charter for their own self-interest are likely to become hidden dangers to the company's operations in the future.

By the third day of the symposium, all the merchants had basically reached an agreement on the operation method and direction of "Qiong Lianfa", but there were still many differences with Haihan on many details.Tao Donglai did not attend this day's symposium as a special visitor from the Guangdong Office, so he had to temporarily divert his attention from the affairs of "Qiong Lianfa".

When the visitor arrived at the Guangzhou Office, he didn't even get out of the soft sedan, but entered the gate of the Guangzhou Office together with the person and the sedan chair.The reason why he covered up his whereabouts so much was because the visitor did not wish to show his face in public at the Guangzhou Office.

Accompanying this visitor is Li Nai, the third young master of "Furuifeng", who is now the chief shopkeeper of "Golden Shield Security".After Tao Donglai received the news of the two people's visit, he immediately came to the study to meet them.

"President Tao, this is the envoy of Flangji from Haojing." Li Nai introduced to Tao Donglai.

Oyster mirror is the Macau of later generations, and at this time, Macau has become the main supply port for the Portuguese trade with China.It has been 1557 years since the Portuguese obtained the right of residence in Macau in 70, and thousands of Portuguese people live in Macau all the year round.However, for the Ming people, their understanding of the "Frangji people" is very vague, and they don't even understand the difference between the Portuguese in Macau and the Spanish in Manila.

"History of the Ming Dynasty" in "Foreign Biography" records this way: "Flangji is close to Manlajia. In Zhengdezhong, he occupies the land of Manlajia and expelled his king." The Ming Dynasty officials in this period regarded Folangji as Neighboring countries of Malacca changed Frangji from Europe to Malacca in South Asia.But in fact Portugal became an independent kingdom as early as 1143, but it was annexed by neighboring Spain a few decades ago and became a vassal state.

As a big local merchant in Guangzhou, "Fu Ruifeng" has not been dealing with the Portuguese in Macau for a day or two.Regarding the sudden appearance of Haihan products in the Guangzhou market, Portugal, who is good at buying and selling, has naturally noticed long ago, but they have been limited to news channels, and they have not been able to connect with Haihan.Until recently, through various channels, "Fu Ruifeng" finally agreed to introduce the Haihan people for them-of course, the attitude of "Fu Ruifeng" is actually the attitude of Haihan's side. Without the nod of the Guangzhou Office, this meeting is not good. maybe appear.

"Dear Mr. Tao, please allow João Enrique Bardac Thomas to send you his most sincere greetings!" Standing in front of Tao Donglai was a standard European man, dressed in baroque pomp The collar, cuffs and trousers are decorated with lace-like lace and ribbons, while the lower body is loose and plump, flowing and pleated skirt pants, which is in line with the "peacock" clothing style popular in Europe during this period.

However, this guy with an awkward name speaks Chinese with a touch of Cantonese Mandarin. It seems that he has lived in Daming for a long time.

"Hello, Mr. Thomas." Tao Donglai nodded.

Originally, it was more appropriate for Schneider to come forward on this occasion. After all, he is a mixed race with a European face and has long-term living experience in Europe and the United States. There is no big communication barrier in terms of language. It may be easier to communicate with messengers.However, because Schneider was busy with the establishment of "Joan Lianfa", and at this juncture, "Joan Lianfa" was obviously more important than the visit of the Portuguese, so only Tao Donglai personally appeared in this meeting.

"If you can, please call me Enrique, my relatives and friends call me that." The Portuguese is a familiar person, and he immediately established a relationship with Tao Donglai.

"Okay Enrique." Tao Donglai responded and invited the two to sit down.

This Enrique is obviously also well versed in the way of communicating with wise people. After taking his seat, he did not rush to express his intention to come. It was not until a servant brought hot tea that Enrique took the initiative to bring up the business: "I am fortunate to have a few months I saw some glassware made by Haihan before, and it can be said that the quality is no less than that of Venetian craftsmen, so please forgive me, can Mr. Tao tell me whether the craftsmanship of these glassware comes from Venice?"

"Of course not." Tao Donglai immediately categorically denied this statement: "This is our unique craftsmanship in Haihan. You may have noticed that our glassware is completely different from the products in Venice in appearance and style. We also have a lot of products that the Venetians have never made before."

"You're right. At least the stationery used by the literati in the Ming Dynasty has never been thought of by the Venetians to be made of glass." Regarding Tao Donglai's denial, Enrique didn't go any further, as if the question just now was From another person's mouth: "I also saw a seal carved with glass on Mr. Li's mansion. It is really a very exquisite work of art."

"Thank you for your compliment, but I think we will meet here today, it's not that you plan to buy glass products from us, right?" Tao Donglai took the initiative to attack when he saw that this guy was going around and didn't get to the point. .

Enrique smiled and said: "If possible, I would like to hire Haihan craftsmen directly, but I know this wish is probably impossible to realize."

Tao Donglai smiled and didn't answer the words. The European glass craftsmen of the same generation are completely treasured by various chambers of commerce. It is impossible to have any chance to contact outsiders. This Enrique probably thinks that Hai Han The same is true for the sides.Although the time-traveling group also has technical confidentiality measures, it does not imprison the craftsmen like the Europeans, because for the time-traveling group, the glass production process does not have too high a technical content, and Hai is not the only one who has mastered this technology. For the Han family, it doesn't make much sense to keep it secret.

The advantage of Crossover Group in this industry does not lie in the high level of technology, but the combination of industrialized production methods and market-oriented product research and development methods. Compared with the differences in production technology, this operating mechanism is ahead of its contemporary competitors. After several centuries, even if the time travel group publishes all the production techniques of glass products, it will be difficult for other people in Asia to organize industrialized production methods and pose a real competitive threat to Haihan glass products.And this kind of advantage is often beyond the reach of outsiders. What they see is the popularity of Haihan products, but they don't understand the real reason behind it.Although Enrique has some knowledge, but with his vision limited by this era, he still can't realize the real advantage of the time travel group.

Enrique went on to say: "As far as I know, Haihan has a wide variety of products, and glass products are just one of them, and our merchants are very interested in other products, such as matches, soap, and ceramic toilets that can flush water. , even the guns you make, if you will sell them, our merchants will be happy to buy them."

Tao Donglai didn't mind the first half, but when he heard "guns", he couldn't help turning his eyes to Li Nai——Although it has long been no secret that the Time Travel Group can manufacture guns by itself, they export guns to the outside world. But there are only a few two or three customers.In order to cut off the possibility of opponents buying arms, Xu Xinsu from Fujian wished to hide the secrets of arms sources as deeply as possible. Among the limited number of customers, the one with the closest contact with the Portuguese is probably only the "Fu Ruifeng" family.

Of course, Li Nai sensed the suspicion in Tao Donglai's eyes, and quickly coughed dryly: "Mr. Enrique, where did you hear about this gun?"

Enrique said: "It's not a secret. Last month, our businessmen transported wood from Hue Prefecture in Annan to Haojing. They heard that the Zheng's army in the north was equipped with a large number of muskets and artillery, and those who cooperated with them in combat It is the Haihan militia. Obviously, there can be no artisans making guns and artillery on the territory controlled by the Zheng family, and the ingenious Haihan craftsmen are probably the real producers. There is news that the new North Vietnamese army that appeared on the battlefield , was trained by you for Mrs. Zheng."

Tao Donglai sighed secretly. He originally thought that these things could be concealed for a while longer, but obviously he underestimated the speed of information transmission in this era.It is an open matter that the Haihan militia went to Vietnam to participate in the war. It is not difficult for interested people to get accurate information after a little inquiring.The South Vietnamese regime, which suffered a severe blow, probably learned the real reason for its failure shortly after the incident, and these Western forces behind the support of the South Vietnamese regime will of course focus on Haihan, who provided military support for North Vietnam.

　I wish you all a new year and a new atmosphere, and all the best!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)