1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 352 Confrontation and Cooperation

According to South Vietnamese official statistics, more than 3000 people died in the Hoi An Rebellion, and more than 3 local residents fled Hoi An during the war.But among this number of deaths, the number of people directly killed by the Haihan militia was actually less than a thousand. On the contrary, more people died in the riots after the war.Of course, the South Vietnamese government will not announce this kind of inside story, and the scapegoat can only be borne by the invaders, the Haihan people.

The number of deaths is relatively easy to count, but the loss of property is difficult to calculate.The Haihan people looted and took away most of the local property, and the fleeing people also took some away. In the subsequent riots, thousands of mobs looted and divided up the remaining leftovers.

For the South Vietnamese court, how many people died in Hoi An and how much the looted property was worth is not the focus of the matter.After the destruction of Hoi An, how to fill the corresponding financial holes and how to deal with the blows from the sea in the future are the real headaches for the dignitaries in charge of the government.

When the South Vietnamese court was shocked by the Hoi An Rebellion, the fleets that went to Hoi An had already returned to Heitu Port and Victory Port.Different from when they set off, the size of the fleet has more than doubled. Among them, there are a large number of sea ships seized by the militia army in the name of spoils, and some belong to Chinese businessmen who followed the militia army to evacuate Hoi An.

The voyage from Hoi An to the Pearl River Estuary is more than 500 nautical miles. Most of the Chinese merchants who fled Hoi An in a hurry failed to prepare enough supplies on board. Therefore, almost all the Chinese merchants who followed the Haihan warship to evacuate Hoi An chose to rest and replenish at Victory Port. ——By the way, let's see if the places that Haihan people have been tirelessly promoting are not as good as they advocate.

The executive committee also attached great importance to the arrival of this group of people, and made corresponding reception preparations before receiving the telegram.These Chinese businessmen are relatively familiar with the maritime trade situation in Southeast Asia, and many of them still have trade relations in places such as Malawi and Canada. These are the resources needed by the commercial department.And the summary report meeting after the return of the militia army was probably the most relaxed atmosphere ever.

"...The cash seized in the battle of Hoi An is about 17 taels of silver, 400 taels of gold, 300 tons of pig iron, 72 tons of copper, and various jewels and jades. The value can only be counted after detailed identification. There are more than 44 pieces of porcelain, nearly 470 tons of various spices, [-] pieces of ivory, and more than [-] pieces of various animal furs..."

It took Tom Wang a quarter of an hour just to read the list of trophies.The seizure in Hoi An this time was so rich that when we left, we had to give up some materials that were not of high value, such as rice and other food, because of the limited space.It will take some time to calculate the overall value of the loot, but based on the material statistics on paper, there must be 80 million yuan.The Militia Army has carried out foreign military operations several times, and each time it has gained a lot, but this time it must have gained the most, and the economic benefits have even exceeded the sum of the previous operations.

Of course, while the executive committee members were excited, they did not forget that the original intention of taking this action was to attack South Vietnam on a strategic level and destroy its foreign trade business.After everyone waited patiently for Wang Tom to finish reading the list of spoils, Tao Donglai cleared his throat and said, "This time there are so many spoils that the ship can't be loaded. Now, everyone doesn't have to worry about losing money in the war."

There was a burst of good-natured laughter from everyone, and Tao Donglai continued: "The seized materials should be handed over to the relevant departments for inventory first, and those that should be discounted should be discounted, and those that should be sold should be sold. , allocated by the Ministry of Finance to the Military Commission. Tom, do you think there is still a possibility for Hoi An to make a comeback after this war?"

"It's hard." Tom Wang shook his head decisively and said, "What we destroyed was not only the city of Hoi An, but also the beliefs of the South Vietnamese. They should be very clear that even if they can rebuild the city of Hoi An, they won't be able to prevent us from destroying it again. Regardless of whether it is a Chinese businessman or a Portuguese, after this incident, they will probably not have any delusions about Hoi An."

"As long as the Portuguese cut off the military aid to South Vietnam, one will ebb and flow, and the North Vietnam will be able to go south to wipe out the Ruan family in at most one year." Yan Chujie was very clear about the military strength of both sides in the Annan Civil War, and immediately added: "Even if we want to rebuild Hoi An, we have to wait until the end of the Annan Civil War and let the North Vietnamese court hand over Hoi An to us to build it."

"It doesn't make much sense to rebuild Hoi An. The terrain of that place is not good, and the inland river port will limit the development of the city. I think that if you want to build a port city in that place in the future, it is better to put it in Da Nang, north of Hoi An." Wang Tom didn't blindly agree with his boss's view on this issue, but put forward a new view based on his own ascertained local situation.

"Tom is right." Ning Qi also said: "Because Hoi An Port is an inland port, it must be dredged and dredged regularly every year. This is not a small project. Originally, in the 18th century, Hoi An Port It was gradually abandoned because of the silting of the river. In contrast, Da Nang, which has a natural harbor, has much better conditions and has the potential to build a large port.”

"Whether it's Hoi An or Da Nang, the Portuguese are probably more anxious to find a new transit port." Tao Donglai hurriedly brought the topic back. If they were allowed to discuss it on their own, the topic would be unknown. Where will it be taken away: "Enrique came to talk to me two days ago, hoping to set up a Portuguese business station in Victory Port."

Enrique, the special envoy sent by Macau, was not in a hurry to leave Victory Harbor after the Haihan militia dispatched troops, and only sent someone to report to Macau by boat.Regarding his move, the Executive Committee did not stop him at all—if the Portuguese had the ability to stumbling Haihan on the Annan issue, then there was probably no need to send Enrique, a special envoy, to Victory Port to lobby.

Although the treatment has not changed in the slightest, Enrique's life in Victory Port has suddenly changed from a leisurely paradise to a day-to-day life.He had also been to Hoi An City, and knew that the state of defense there could not resist the Haihan militia armed with live ammunition, strong boats and cannons. The fall of Hoi An City was only a matter of time.Enrique is not worried about the safety of Hoi An City. What he is worried about is the personal safety of the local Portuguese—if these people die in the hands of the Haihan militia, the peace talks between the two sides will inevitably break down. The Portuguese may not be able to withstand the attack of the Haihan militia.

Due to various considerations, Enrique had to wait for the results in Victory Port before making a decision on the next step.After suffering like this for more than ten days, Enrique finally got the notice from the Hai Han people—the city of Hoi An had been destroyed, the local Portuguese had been accomplices, and their personal property had been confiscated, and five other people had tried to attack the Hai Han people Regiment, was divided by hanging.

Upon receiving such news, Enrique was greatly relieved.If only five people died, and they were all unknown minor characters, then it wasn't a big deal.As for the property of the local businessman being confiscated by the Haihan militia, this is even more indifferent to Enrique-who made them choose to stay in a place like Hoi An?At least the Haihan people were not exterminated, and they also let the local Portuguese live, which left a way out for the two sides to continue negotiations.

After Enrique calmed down, he naturally thought of the consequences of the destruction of the city of Hoi An. Although the Portuguese had not completely lost their foothold on the Indochina Peninsula, it had undoubtedly destroyed the maritime trade that supported the South Vietnamese economy. For the most part, if South Vietnam wants to organize another northern expedition in the future, it will inevitably face economic difficulties.Of course, these are the problems of the South Vietnamese court, and Enrique is not in the mood to plan for this dynasty that is beginning to decline. What he considers is where to find a new trade transfer point after losing Hoi An Port.

In the southeastern coastal areas of the Indochina Peninsula, there are actually many good natural ports, such as Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh and other places. The Portuguese did not have much difficulty in establishing commercial stations in these places.But the problem is that it is not enough to establish a commercial station. To form a new maritime trade port, there must be a large number of maritime merchants willing to go to these places, and the Portuguese do not have enough goods in their hands to attract maritime merchants.In the entire South China Sea, apart from Managa and Batavia in the south, the most prosperous port is probably Victory Port, which is still in a period of rapid development.

Enrique has not been idle these days in Victory Port. He has visited almost all the places where he can get permission, and has a deeper understanding of the surrounding environment of Victory Port.Victory Harbor has two natural harbors, one large and one small, which are very suitable for the construction of a large port city.Moreover, since the opening of Shengli Port, it has attracted a large number of Ming businessmen to trade here. The Haihan people even organized a large commercial organization such as "Qiong Lianfa" and spent a lot of money on local development and construction.

Accompanied by Schneider, Enrique once visited Sanya's new urban area. He could only describe the Haihan people's plan as ambitious - an inland river port that can accommodate hundreds of merchant ships at the same time, an urban area that stretches for ten miles, an area of ​​​​The large-scale farm with an area of ​​[-] mu, and the hundreds of thousands of residents who will live here in the future, all these ideas are being gradually realized under the command of the Haihan Executive Committee.

The duty-free policy implemented by Victory Port will undoubtedly attract more merchants to trade here in the future. The merchants of Ming Dynasty will definitely be happy to ship their goods here and sell them to the Haihan people instead of being forced to charge them. Tariffs of Batavia or Manila.And when Western businessmen learn about the policies and environment here, they will probably give up waiting for the arrival of Ming merchants in their own colonies, and take the initiative to go to Victory Port to buy cheaper goods.

If the Portuguese need to find a new trade transfer station in the South China Sea, Victory Port is undoubtedly an excellent choice.After Enrique figured this out, he didn't even send anyone to ask for instructions from the Macau Council, so he directly approached Tao Donglai to apply for the establishment of a commercial station-the destruction of Hoi An was already an irreparable situation, the Portuguese If you don't want to lose more, you must at least gain a foothold in Port Victory before the Spaniards and the Dutch.

"The Portuguese want to build a merchant station in Victory Port? It's a good thing. Just follow the rules of the game we set and let them come. Of course, don't forget to collect money." Schneider replied with a smile.For foreign merchants who want to establish a commercial station in Shengli Port, Schneider has always been committed to facilitating, not to mention the business department has been looking for a partner who has mastered the western sea route.

As a time-traveling group with a large amount of cross-era black technology, it would be too wasteful if the products produced can only be sold within the territory of Daming. The distant western countries are also the target customers scheduled by the business department.In particular, some lucrative products, such as silk, porcelain, sugar, and arms that never have to worry about sales, are hard currencies that can be sold to Western countries on a large scale.However, what currently restricts this kind of trade is not the own productivity and technical level of the Transit Group, but the boundless sea.

There are indeed some navigation experts like Tom Wang in the Transit Group, but the strength of the entire shipping industry is still weak, not even comparable to that of a Ming maritime merchant like Xu Xinsu.At present, the relatively stable shipping routes under the Ministry of Shipping are only two routes from Shengli Port to Heitu Port and Guangzhou. As for the farther places, they are still at the level of paper plans.

From Asia to Europe, it takes more than half a year to go through the sea voyage of thousands of miles. For this kind of long-distance voyage, the Transit Group may not have the strength to complete it in the next few years, and it is unlikely that the limited elite Personnel are involved in the task of opening up ocean routes. After all, the main development areas of the Crossing Group are still concentrated in the Far East and South Asia.Therefore, for the task of opening up the western market, the Executive Committee has always hoped to find a partner to carry it out—just like the principle of cooperating with "Fu Ruifeng" to open up the Ming market.

Regarding the request made by Enrique, the executive committee members also rarely voiced their opposition unanimously.The Militia Army showed mercy to the Portuguese in Annan. This was originally a decision made by the Executive Committee in advance, hoping to express their "goodwill" through this method, and at the same time make the Portuguese realize that they are looking for a partner. mistakes made.And Enrique has obviously thought of this now, and is trying to remedy it.

On the second day after the militia returned to Port of Victory, Enrique hurriedly left Port of Victory and rushed back to Macau. He needed to report to the council what he had seen and heard in Port of Victory as soon as possible, and to report the latest situation of Annan Changes are notified to the Council.

On the day Enrique left Victory Port, the first batch of Ming immigrants recruited by Lijiazhuang near Guangzhou was welcomed here, with a total of more than [-] people, and nearly a thousand people will arrive in Hong Kong within a month.

At this time, it has been three months since the militia fought in Lijiazhuang and finalized the establishment of the immigration transfer station. Obviously, the work efficiency of the recruited migrant workers cannot be compared with the naturalized people in Shengli Port, which caused the construction period to be delayed again and again.On the other hand, it was because the Li family broke openly with Li Fengjie, the top leader in Guangdong. At that time, they were deliberately suppressed by the Guangzhou government, and even the credit for killing the bandit leader Liao Dabi was not publicly rewarded.In order not to make excuses for the government, the Li family was not in a hurry to openly recruit refugees. It was not until recently that Li Fengjie finally stepped down as the Haihan people said, and Wang Zunde, the right servant of the Ministry of punishment, took over as the governor of Guangdong, Guangxi and governor of Guangdong. The immigrants went to Qiongzhou Island to reclaim wasteland.

Since they had received "pointing" from Ning Qi and others in advance, the Li family had begun to burn cold stoves at Wang Zunde's side half a year ago, and this move had obviously achieved very good results. The battle of Lijiazhuang, which has been silent for a long time, issued an official commendation order again, and in the commendation order, the Li family was praised as "serving the country and the people, being loyal and courageous, and should be a model of gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi."Wang Zunde also gave a very high evaluation of the Li family's initiative to provide relief with work, pay all the expenses, and recruit disaster victims and homeless people in Guangdong to open up wasteland on Qiongzhou Island, and gave the green light all the way to allow the Li family to send people to the province. All states and counties in the country conduct open recruitment.

In this way, the Li family's recruitment activities will undoubtedly have official endorsement, and they will have higher credibility during the process.The Li family’s recruitment activities in various states and counties have official officials to maintain order, and there is even an official document issued by the Yazhou government, which proves that the Li family’s recruitment activities are supported by the local government’s policies, and the people do not have to worry about being shipped. They are sold to Nanyang as piglets.

As a result, the government has found a new way to solve the problem of the victims who have been suffering for many years. They ship these victims without food and clothing to remote Yazhou, and let them go to the local wasteland to work. The family is responsible for the supply, and the local government no longer has to worry about the refugees rebelling in order to survive.As for whether the land reclaimed by these immigrants in the local area belongs to them, the Li family, or other landlords, Mr. Wang doesn't care so much. It will be handled by the local government.

Lijiazhuang in Panyu County has now built an immigrant transfer point that can accommodate 3000 temporary residents, and has remodeled the pier so that more immigrant boats can dock here at the same time.According to the prior agreement, the Transit Group is responsible for all the expenses, and it is not a small sum. Just building this transshipment point and preparing for the recruitment of various materials and manpower cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. From May to August, tens of tons of rice and more than [-] sets of clothes were shipped to the local area. They also purchased a large amount of medicine and daily necessities in Guangzhou. Speaking of which, the Ministry of Civil Affairs spent a lot of money in establishing this transshipment point. .

(End of this chapter)