1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3926

Having the qualifications to cooperate with special operations divisions is only the most basic condition for advancing subsequent matters, but as the head of the salt merchant group, Dai Yingda naturally needs to consider more factors. Besides the enormous benefits that cooperation could bring, certain hidden risks must also be guarded against.

What he feared most was, of course, the military's attitude toward this.

For a business tycoon like the Salt Merchants Group to establish a cooperative relationship with military leaders stationed overseas year-round is inherently a highly sensitive matter. If this matter has to bypass the Ministry of National Defense, it could be seen as an act of treachery if exposed.

Therefore, Dai Yingda needs to figure out how to contact the special operations division and whether he needs to inform the Ministry of National Defense first.

Of course, the first thing to do in this matter is to listen to Dai Chengrong's opinion, since he holds a military position and his understanding of the military situation far surpasses that of these laymen present.

Dai Chengrong explained, "If it's just ordinary cooperation, there won't be any problem in proactively notifying the Ministry of National Defense. For example, the special operations division can entrust the Salt Merchant Group to purchase supplies domestically and sell overseas products through its subordinate trading agencies, or purchase transportation and personnel recruitment services from the Salt Merchant Group. You are probably all familiar with these routine cooperation projects. We just need to follow the instructions in the past."

The military force with the closest cooperative relationship with the salt merchants group is, of course, the garrison troops in the East China Sea region.

The two sides have a cooperative relationship that has lasted for more than 20 years, with a long history of various conventional, unconventional, and even shady collaborations. The salt merchant group's current overseas development is almost entirely dependent on the support of the military forces stationed in the East China Sea region.

No one knows a son better than his father. Dai Yingda keenly caught the wording in Dai Chengrong's words and immediately asked, "You said these are ordinary-level collaborations, meaning there might be extraordinary collaborations as well. How would that be handled?"

Dai Chengrong remained silent for a moment, seemingly considering how to phrase his words. During this time, the heads of the seven major families also exchanged a few whispered words to each other, confirming each other's stance.

Dai Chengrong finally spoke again: "Considering the current situation of the special operations division, they may ask us to lend them military funds. Lending money is certainly simple, but whether we should report this to the Ministry of National Defense is something we need to consider carefully."

Dai Yingda said, "As far as I know, Guangzhou Furuifeng has a very close relationship with the Special Forces Division, and the Li family is also quite wealthy. Why would the Special Forces Division go to such lengths to ask us for a loan?"

Dai Chengrong explained, "The main family closely associated with the Special Forces Division is Li Fa's branch of the Li family. I heard that Li Fa's son, Li Yuande, has been working for Commander Qian for many years. But I think the assistance they can provide to the Special Forces Division is limited. For example, the funds needed to launch a large-scale war may not be enough with the financial resources of Li Fa's branch alone."

"Besides, Commander Qian might not be comfortable putting all his eggs in one basket. It's perfectly normal for him to find one or even several other companies to share the risk. What if there are problems with the Li family's fund allocation? Wouldn't that affect his overall plans?"

After hearing this, everyone immediately started discussing it. The allocation of military funds is the responsibility of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense, while the Special Operations Division is the elite force of the Haihan Army. If even the Special Operations Division is experiencing a shortage of military funds, does this indicate that there are deeper problems within the military? Is it really a wise move for the Salt Merchants Group to get involved in this high-level power struggle?

Dai Chengrong overheard these words and said in a deep voice, "Just stick to the facts and don't make unnecessary connections. The special operations division's military budget is allocated and distributed according to the fiscal year. If there is a large-scale military operation suddenly, it is a temporary extra expenditure and has nothing to do with insufficient military funds."

“The Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense may not have enough funds to immediately allocate to the Special Operations Division, which is why the Special Operations Division may have to raise funds from outside. Of course, the more important reason is that the higher-ups may not want the Special Operations Division to start a war at this time.” What Dai Chengrong said was actually quite close to the actual situation, but what he did not know was that Qian Tiandun had realized the Executive Committee’s attitude and intended to implement the original plan ahead of schedule, which led to the shortage of funds and materials needed for preparation.

If he were willing to wait a few years before taking action against the Suez Canal, he would have more time to prepare and might not need to consider raising military funds from abroad.

After some discussion, the old salt merchants reached a basic consensus: provided there were substantial profits to be made, they could consider providing the special operations division with the assistance it needed, including but not limited to material and financial help.

Of course, such cooperation can only be implemented after the attitudes of the Executive Committee and the Ministry of National Defense are confirmed, and the Salt Merchants Group should not risk offending the top management of Haihan Group.

So the question is, how can we ascertain the attitude of Haihan's senior management towards this matter?

"Could we have Commander Qian take the initiative to report this matter to the higher-ups? That way, we can avoid the possibility of being targeted by the higher-ups," Dai Yingda quickly proposed a solution.

Dai Chengrong said, "Theoretically, that should be the case, but I don't know if Commander Qian has the patience to wait for approval from above. As you all know, it may take a long time to go through all the formal procedures."

The Haihan Army's practice of raising military funds from the civilian population was not unprecedented. Over the past thirty years, the government had issued war bonds to the public on several occasions, and salt merchant groups had always been among the major buyers.

However, this fundraising method requires coordination and cooperation from multiple departments such as the Executive Committee, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Finance. The entire process inevitably requires dedicated personnel to travel back and forth between various departments to supervise and urge progress, which is precisely the weakness of the Special Operations Division.

Qian Tiandun might not have such patience, and might bypass these hurdles and raise funds directly from private businesses.

Of course, given the Special Forces Division's reputation, if Qian Tiandun were willing to ask, there would likely be a long line of people willing to lend money to the division for military expenses. The reason the Salt Merchant Group was chosen as a candidate is probably because of its substantial financial resources, which would save the Special Forces Division the trouble of breaking down the loan into multiple smaller loans and seeking multiple partners.

At this moment, Ji Qing asked again, "Cheng Rong, did your friend reveal when they would likely make their move if preparations go smoothly?"

Dai Chengrong shook his head and said, "This is a top secret, he certainly wouldn't easily reveal it to an outsider like me."

Ji Qing said, "Then how can we be sure when this money will start to generate returns? If we have to wait five, six, seven, or eight years after the war ends before we see any income, then it's not worth it."

Dai Chengrong said, "Uncle Ji makes a good point. When we contact them later, we can raise this issue and see how they respond. But I think we shouldn't wait that long; that wouldn't be in line with the special operations division's style."