1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3662

Dong Shangyi was also a smart man who understood things quickly. After listening to Li Yuande's advice, he immediately understood the truth.

Mining gemstones is as easy as eating and sleeping for the natives, but this is not necessarily the case for the outsiders, the Hai Han people.

Conquering the Kingdom of Kandy by force was certainly no problem for the special operations division, but even if they forcibly seized the opponent's gem mine, subsequent mining would require a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources, and a certain number of troops would have to be stationed in the area for security reasons.

It should be noted that the Kingdom of Kandy was suppressed for nearly a hundred years when facing the invasion of European colonists, but it never gave up resistance. If Hai Han repeats the practices of the Europeans, it will inevitably face a long-term security war.

The manpower cost of the special warfare division is probably more than a hundred times higher than that of the natives. Doing so will only greatly increase the cost of gem mining, which is far less cost-effective than maintaining the status quo.

However, Dong Shangyi still felt that if more Han immigrants could be moved to Ceylon in the future and more labor was available, perhaps he could try to take the mining rights from the indigenous people.

Of course, it would take many years to realize such a vision. Because he could see that Qian Tiandun did not seem to intend to completely occupy Ceylon Island. He just wanted to use it as a strategic fulcrum and supply port in the central Indian Ocean, rather than another overseas enclave that would be incorporated into Hai Han's territory.

After spending several days traveling around the island, Dong Shangyi arrived at Hambantota Port again.

When he looked at the various infrastructure plans here at this time, it was not difficult for him to clearly feel that Qian Tiandun did have a strong purpose and did not expect to build this place into a regional trade center like Xingdao.

Of course, if Fu Ruifeng and the upcoming Fujian Trading Company can bring more business opportunities here, I believe Qian Tiandun would definitely be happy to see it, otherwise he would not have shown the entire process of gem trade to Dong Shangyi.

Qian Tiandun met with Dong Shangyi again and asked him about his feelings and thoughts after his visit to Ceylon.

Dong Shangyi said calmly: "General, please forgive me for being so bold, but the business prospects here may not be very good for three reasons."

Qian Tiandun looked calm and nodded slightly, saying, "Tell me what you want to hear."

Dong Shangyi continued, "First, the local population base is weak, especially the Han Chinese. The special warfare division and immigrants are less than 10,000 people, so the market scale that can be supported is not large. The Portuguese only have one city, Colombo, and the population may not be as large as ours, so we can't expect that place to have strong consumption power."

"Secondly, the traditional trading locations for East-West trade are still concentrated in the Strait of Malacca. Our Hai Han Kingdom, Portugal, and the Netherlands all have large cities and ports built there. It is unlikely that the function of this international cargo distribution center will be transferred to a small port with limited infrastructure conditions in the middle of the Indian Ocean."

"Third, the local specialty products are too single and require a monopoly channel to obtain the maximum profit, which is not suitable for large-scale investment attraction. Even if some merchants come later, they will soon be in a situation where there is no business to do."

Qian Tiandun said slowly: "You said these three points make sense. In your opinion, how should the local development and construction proceed?" Dong Shangyi said: "After all, the general is not interested in this. As long as the Hambantota Port can maintain a balance between income and expenditure in the future, the general will be very satisfied. But if the general really wants to increase the scale of local trade, I have some ideas for reference."

"A more pragmatic approach is to position the Hambantota Port as a supply port open to merchant ships of all countries, with a focus on safety, reliability and fair prices. Once word of mouth builds, merchant ships traveling here will more or less bring in some business. Then we can allow Haihan Bank to move in and provide deposit, withdrawal and settlement services, which may further increase the scale of local trade."

What Dong Shangyi said was also true. The arrival of Furifeng and Fujian Commercial Bank seemed to be able to take over the shipping business of Hambantota Port, but due to the local population base and consumption capacity, there would not be much profit margin. The main income would probably have to rely on the gem trade.

If the Hambantota Port does not increase its openness, it will not be able to make a profit through limited-scale commercial operations alone, and it will even be difficult to balance income and expenditure.

The only solution Dong Shangyi could think of at the moment was to change the military function of the port. However, he estimated that someone had already proposed this idea to Qian Tiandun, and he might not get the other party's approval.

Sure enough, Qian Tiandun responded: "Before we establish the next foothold, the Hambantota Port must continue to play the role of a bridgehead, and military functions must be given priority. Commercial operations are certainly important, but they can only be postponed a little bit in terms of time."

Dong Shangyi had been prepared mentally, and was not disappointed by such a response. He bowed and said, "General, you are indeed very thoughtful. I am grateful for your advice!"

Qian Tiandun waved his hand and said, "You are a newcomer, and it is quite good that you have these ideas and understandings. You don't have to feel that you have not thought it through. If the conditions here are better and the harbor is more spacious, I certainly hope that commercial operations can keep up with it and build this place into a military and civilian dual-use port as soon as possible."

"It's good that you can honestly express your concerns, but I hope that Fujian businesses will not back down because the conditions here are not ideal. Investing in Hambantota Port is not only to support the construction here, but also a ticket to enter the Western world in the future. Do you understand me?"

Dong Shangyi nodded repeatedly. How could he not understand the hint in Qian Tiandun's words?

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Although you, Dong Shangyi, may not be optimistic about the business prospects of Hambantota Port now, if you give up your investment plan here, then when the special operations division moves westward and gains control of more trade resources in the future, Fujian will not be able to expect to get to eat the meat, and may even not be able to drink the soup.

Qian Tiandun added: "In a few days, I will personally lead a team to explore the unknown areas of the Indian Ocean to the west. Is Mr. Dong interested in going with me?"

Dong Shangyi was slightly surprised to hear this question. He had never expected to receive such an invitation.

The arrangement Qian Tiandun mentioned would undoubtedly be a highly confidential military operation, and the purpose of inviting him to participate was probably not just to express goodwill. All Dong Shangyi could think of at the moment was that Qian Tiandun wanted to use this opportunity to show him the military strength of the Special Warfare Division and its determination to expand westward, so that Fujian could continue to invest resources in the Special Warfare Division's jurisdiction with peace of mind.

However, once this kind of exploration begins, it will probably take more than ten days or half a month to complete. When Dong Shangyi was still thinking about what reason to report to Fujian, Qian Tiandun had already solved this problem for him: "If Lord Dong has such a wish, then I will send a telegram to Lord Xu to borrow you for a few months. I believe Lord Xu will not object."