1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3916

Despite having acquired a large number of immigrants through various channels over the past year, bringing the number of Han Chinese residents in Fubo Port on the Persian Gulf to five figures, Qian Tiandun still felt that such a population size was far from sufficient.

This is because the area he now manages has long since expanded beyond just one port, and the demand for population has moved beyond the basic maintenance of operations. It has entered a development phase, requiring the population to increase by at least another digit.

From the three islands at the northern end of the Strait of Malacca, to Hamban Port at the southern end of Ceylon, and then to Fubo Port and Zhenhai Port on the east and west sides of the Arabian Peninsula, Qian Tiandun now controls a series of ports along the Indian Ocean coast. He only needs a small area at the northern end of the Red Sea to open up a sea route from the South China Sea to the Mediterranean.

These islands and ports may not be very large in area when combined, but the trade routes and energy production areas they connect will undoubtedly be one of the most important strategic resources in the world for centuries to come.

To develop related shipping and energy industries, the first step is to invest a large amount of manpower in infrastructure development, and this must include a considerable number of technical talents trained by Haihan itself.

Even within China, such talents are highly sought-after by various regions. It is easy to imagine how difficult it would be to bring them to the Indian Ocean region, which is far from the mainland of Haihan.

The only condition Qian Tiandun could offer was a more favorable treatment than that offered domestically.

Although the fiscal situation in the region under his jurisdiction was far from prosperous, Qian Tiandun still tried to offer higher salaries to attract much-needed professionals, such as shipbuilding engineers, skilled craftsmen, navigators, and experienced captains needed in the maritime industry.

As for the professionals needed in the energy industry, their knowledge and experience are more complex and advanced, making them even scarcer. Most of these individuals hold important positions domestically. Even with exceptionally high salaries, Qian Tiandun would find it difficult to attract such highly skilled individuals.

Therefore, he could only rely on his cooperative relationship with the Sing Tao region to bring in some young engineers from the Dumai oil field in the Strait of Malacca on a lease basis to provide technical support for oil well drilling and refining facilities near Fubo Port.

In exchange, Qian Tiandun had to provide these technicians with generous compensation and the most comfortable living environment in the region.

The special operations division lacked specialized personnel in this area, so Qian Tiandun delegated these tasks to Li Yuande. More precisely, he outsourced the relevant affairs to Furuifeng, a company owned by the Li Yuande family.

Today, Fu Ruifeng is no longer a simple business name; it is more like a super conglomerate with a wide range of businesses spanning various industries.

Especially during the period when Haihan expanded its overseas colonies to the south and west, Frederick Capital, as an official partner, simultaneously expanded its business scale and provided commercial support for the development of its overseas colonies.

Four years ago, Li Yuande took the initiative to come to the Special Operations Division to follow Qian Tiandun, and at the same time tied Furifeng's momentum of developing in the West overseas with the Special Operations Division.

As a pledge of allegiance from his followers, Li Yuande used his family's resources to provide tremendous assistance to Qian Tiandun and the Special Forces Division, whether it was breaking through the Strait of Malacca or building Hamban Port, greatly shortening the time required for the Special Forces Division to control these areas.

Of course, this investment wasn't one-sided. As a result, Fu Ruifeng gained the protection of the Special Operations Division, becoming the first Haihan merchant west of the Strait of Malacca to receive official authorization. This qualification wasn't based on any certificate or credential; it was entirely a tacit understanding between Fu Ruifeng and the Special Operations Division, a mutual trust between Li Yuande and Qian Tiandun. However, the benefits it brought to Fu Ruifeng were considerable. Their near-monopoly position within the Special Operations Division's jurisdiction over the past few years alone had allowed Fu Ruifeng to essentially recoup its initial investment.

Li Yuande, who initially only brought a dozen or so ships south from Guangzhou to join the Special Forces Division, has seen his wealth increase a hundredfold in the past few years. He can now be considered the most powerful maritime merchant in the Indian Ocean region, bar none.

Of course, Li Yuande did not have an easy time during this period. Just the fact that he had to travel back and forth between Guangzhou and the colonies in the Indian Ocean at least two or three times a year was an extremely tiring journey.

Li Yuande, however, remained enthusiastic about it. This was not only due to his personal worship of Qian Tiandun, but also because he gradually discovered the joy of exploring and conquering the unknown.

Bringing immigrants from within China to the areas under the jurisdiction of the special operations division is one of Li Yuande's main tasks, which naturally includes special attention to professional talents.

Compared to recruiting senior technical personnel who require direct contact, multiple interviews, and various conditions, Li Yuande naturally felt that recruiting ordinary immigrants was easier; basically, as long as the money was spent, the results would be visible.

In addition to spending money to recruit, there is also the outbreak of war this year, which usually brings a lot of immigrants to coastal areas.

Through official connections, Fu Ruifeng had long ago learned of Haihan's military intentions toward Jiangxi, so he sent a message to You Zhiyuan, who was in charge of the military campaign in Guangdong and Guangxi, offering generous rewards to bring in immigrants, especially young and middle-aged people, from Jiangxi.

Of course, this "young and able-bodied population" also includes Ming soldiers captured by the Haihan Army through war.

The large-scale migration of immigrants overseas has never been concerned with their past identities. Especially in regions far from the Han mainland, as long as they are Han Chinese, they are accepted unconditionally, regardless of whether they were prisoners or prisoners of war.

Once these people are transported overseas, even if they work as laborers on construction sites or in mines, they are often much more useful than the local natives who are difficult to communicate with.

While the fighting in Jiangxi was still ongoing, the first batch of refugees and prisoners of war from Jiangxi had already been transported to Guangzhou. They then sailed south, and after a sea voyage of several dozen days and several transfers, they finally arrived at Fubo Port in the Persian Gulf. At this time, Jiangxi had not yet launched its final offensive against Nanchang, so the efficiency of the transfer was quite remarkable.

Li Yuande personally went to the port to receive this group of new immigrants from Jiangxi, more than half of whom were "young and middle-aged people" whom he specifically requested.

Logically, Li Yuande should have been quite satisfied with this. However, the arrival of these two thousand new immigrants did not bring him any relief. A group of technicians who were originally supposed to come to Fubo Port on this immigrant fleet canceled their trip for various reasons. Perhaps some of them would give up the idea of ​​immigrating to Fubo Port.

The consequence of this might be that some local construction projects have to be postponed, which will not be easy to explain to Qian Tiandun.