1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3734

The fleet originally planned to stay in Hong Kong for only two days, but there were too many fleets coming from all over Guangdong and Guangxi, especially from the Pearl River Basin, to meet in Hong Kong, and two days was simply not enough to complete all preparations.

Shi Diwen had to order an adjustment to the plan and stay in Hong Kong for one more day to coordinate the arrangements for these newly joined fleets.

The new captains were called together for a full day of communication meetings, where officers from the East China Sea Fleet informed them how to maintain the correct position and course in the huge fleet, how to receive instructions from the military, how to respond to various emergencies, and the many precautions that needed to be taken during the voyage.

For some captains who have never been on a military expedition, the complexity of these details far exceeds the cost of sailing. They must master the knowledge and skills that ordinary sailors may need a year or two to become familiar with in just a few days.

Due to the large size of the fleet, it is impossible for them to stop and wait for ships that are moving too slowly, and they will not turn around collectively to look for those who have lost their way at sea.

However, there will always be a few warships at the end of the fleet, lagging behind with a gap of one day or half a day. While they are covering the rear, they can also collect some ships that accidentally leave the team.

Once these civilian ships become separated from the fleet during their voyage and do not encounter any military ships covering their wake, they may have no choice but to sail to the nearest Hai Han port and dock, then contact the fleet through the local radio station to see if they can catch up with the main force. Otherwise, they will have no choice but to return home.

This risk is real, as there have been cases of civilian ships falling out of the team during the voyage from Hangzhou to Hong Kong.

Fortunately, the civilian ships had been informed in advance of the fleet's stopover locations along the way, so the civilian ships that had strayed from the fleet could reunite with the fleet in Hong Kong by simply chasing south along the coast.

However, this trick probably wouldn't work well after entering unfamiliar waters. The nearest Hai Han port might be thousands of miles away. By the time we get there and obtain the fleet's real-time location, it would probably be too late. That's why we need to repeatedly emphasize the importance of unified action to the accompanying civilian ships before departure.

The number of new ships in Guangdong and Guangxi was quite large, even exceeding the total number of ships in the East China Sea, Fujian, Taiwan, etc. Guangzhou Fu Ruifeng alone organized a fleet of 18 ships.

It has been four years since Li Yuande, a younger generation of the Li family, started working under Qian Tiandun. This has long been no secret to the outside world.

The fact that the Li family's company, Fu Ruifeng, was organizing transportation capacity in such a big way to deliver supplies and personnel to the special operations division's jurisdiction must have been a huge benefit in the eyes of others, and of course they couldn't just watch the Li family take all the benefits.

Li Nai, the third manager of Fu Ruifeng, also rushed to Hong Kong in person to hand over the command of the fleet to Shi Diwen.

When others saw this arrangement, they were even more determined that they could not miss this action. Otherwise, the Executive Committee might not remember in detail who participated, but whoever had the ability to participate but did not participate would probably be remembered clearly.

Shi Diwen's view on Li Nai's arrival was actually similar to that of the general public. He believed that Fu Ruifeng wanted to take this opportunity to smuggle a batch of commercial goods over, and using an armed fleet to escort them, there would be no need to worry about safety issues along the way.

But Li Nai said that only a small part of the materials carried on these ships were goods for sale, and the vast majority were various daily necessities, labor tools, medicinal materials, etc. needed for the construction of ports and bases there.

For things like these that the government needs, Fu Ruifeng basically doesn't make any money, and even has to pay for the shipping costs itself.

Of course, this work is not done in vain. As part of the exchange conditions, every territory under the jurisdiction of the Special Operations Division will have a branch of Fu Ruifeng in the future, and will be provided with various conveniences.

Among the people going to the area this time, there are six shopkeepers appointed by Fu Ruifeng to organize and manage the industry locally. "There are three islands near the Strait of Malacca, Hamban Port on Ceylon Island, and the two new ports of Zhenhai and Fubo established by the special warfare division. It's just right for one person to be responsible for one place!"

Li Nai was very frank with Shi Diwen, because Fu Ruifeng now had a lot of business in the East China Sea region, and he didn't want Shi Diwen to have any suspicion towards him or Fu Ruifeng.

And Shi Diwen also realized from his words that the scale of cooperation between the Special Operations Division and Fu Ruifeng should be larger than the outside world thought.

Setting up six branches overseas is not as simple as sending six shopkeepers to look after the shops.

Fu Ruifeng is one of the most successful private companies in Hai Han. Even when cooperating with the government, it is doing business to make money, not to use the money for charity. These overseas branches that are opened in batches, no matter how they are operated in the early stage, must have the ultimate goal of making profits.

The places controlled by the special warfare division are still in their infancy, and there should not be many profitable businesses there. I'm afraid they are planning to hand over most of them to Fu Ruifeng for operation.

This may mean that Fu Ruifeng will have to invest resources to open up commercial channels connecting to the domestic market for the special operations division, and the resources required for this will require more than just a few shopkeepers.

Moreover, after Fu Ruifeng has set this precedent, the demonstration effect it plays will also attract more businesses to invest.

For example, the two major business organizations, Qiong Lianfa and Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce, which Fu Ruifeng joined in its early years, have also organized their own teams and are preparing to go to the Indian Ocean to make a big move.

After finishing the official business, Shi Diwen also mentioned a personal matter: "I heard that you betrothed your daughter to Tao Hongfang. When are you going to get married?"

Li Nai quickly responded, "Mr. Tao has been busy with government affairs for the past two years and has no time to deal with personal matters. I think he should be able to find time to marry my daughter this year."

Shi Diwen nodded and said, "On the wedding day, I will come and ask for a glass of wine."

Li Nai replied, "It is a great honor for the Li family that Lord Shi is willing to do us the honor! When the date is set, I will send someone to deliver the wedding invitation to Lord Shi's house."

The marriage between the Tao and Li families was actually decided by the parents of both sides three years ago. However, Tao Hongfang was assigned to Nanjing to govern two years ago, so the marriage was postponed until the third year.

Li Nai couldn't wait any longer. After all, his daughter was already an adult. If he delayed it for another year or two, there would be more and more rumors outside, which would damage the reputation of the Li family.

Moreover, if we delay, something unexpected may happen. There are at least eight hundred people who want to marry their daughter to the prince Tao Hongfang. Then there might be other people with connections trying to replace Li Nai's daughter. It's also possible that Tao Hongfang has fallen in love with another girl during this period. In short, there are many unsafe situations.

Li Nai wanted to avoid any complications, and the only way was to get married as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)