1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3940

Whether Dai Chengrong can be promoted is an internal matter of the East China Sea Region and the 7th Division of the Army. Chen Pingliao certainly cannot interfere, and this matter has no direct relationship with the Northern Region.

However, Chen Pingliao could see that Dai Chengrong had considerable influence among the Yangzhou salt merchants. Dai Chengrong's attitude was very important regarding the salt merchants' children going overseas to develop their careers. Chen Pingliao was naturally happy to see Dai Chengrong promoted successfully, thereby facilitating cooperation with the Special Operations Division in talent transfer.

Dai Chengrong was overjoyed upon hearing Chen Pingliao's reply and repeatedly thanked him for his advice. He knew very well that Chen Pingliao had access to far more information than he did, and that the information was far more credible than any rumors circulating outside. Perhaps this was Shi Chengxin trying to reassure him through Chen Pingliao's words.

Dai Chengrong was eager to repay Chen Pingliao, but felt he didn't have any significant information. Just as he was feeling anxious, he suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "I wonder if Lord Chen has already registered for the officer training course that the Ministry of National Defense is holding in Hangzhou?"

Chen Pingliao nodded and said, "One of the purposes of my trip to Hangzhou is to attend this training course."

Dai Chengrong quickly replied, "I have also enrolled in this training course, and I will have the honor of being classmates with Master Chen!"

Before Chen Pingliao could respond, Dai Chengrong continued, "Seventy percent of the trainees this time are from various units in the East China Sea region, and almost all of them are acquainted with me. I will host the event and arrange for them to pay their respects to Lord Chen, is that alright?"

Chen Pingliao thought to himself that Dai Chengrong was quite sensible and perceptive; no wonder he, coming from a family of salt merchants, had managed to rise to his current position in the army. He nodded in agreement, tacitly approving Dai Chengrong's suggestion.

This is actually closely related to Dai Chengrong's background. Salt merchants are, after all, businessmen. Observing people's words and expressions and welcoming and seeing off guests are their essential skills. Before leaving home to join the army, Dai Chengrong had also met all kinds of officials with his uncles and elders and was very familiar with human relationships.

If it weren't for the extremely strict requirements of seniority and military merit in the promotion system of the Haihan Army, Dai Chengrong's ability to cultivate connections and the abundant financial support of the salt merchant group would probably have secured him a place in the Ministry of National Defense long ago.

The day after meeting Dai Chengrong, Chen Pingliao finally began to visit some prominent figures under the guise of reporting on his duties.

It wasn't that he neglected his official duties and was more diligent in his personal affairs, but rather that these important figures weren't people he could see whenever he wanted these days. Even if he was a second-generation transmigrator and the nominal young master of the Northern Region, he still had to wait in line to be summoned when he arrived in Hangzhou.

The reason is simple: these important figures are extremely busy with their daily official duties, and they need to meet with a large number of people from all walks of life every day. Once their schedules are disrupted, a series of subsequent matters will have to be readjusted.

Even though Chen Pingliao's status gave him certain priority, he didn't have much time left when the meeting actually took place.

When Chen Pingliao met Yan Chujie, he was only given ten minutes to give a report.

Yan Chujie's meeting with Chen Pingliao was scheduled between two important meetings, which would have allowed for more time. However, the first meeting, which discussed the administrative divisions and troop deployments of the Southern New Continent, had been somewhat drawn out, and the second meeting, concerning the Ministry of National Defense's review of the Jiangxi campaign results and military merit assessments, also couldn't be delayed. Therefore, only ten minutes were available for Chen Pingliao. Knowing that time was limited, Chen Pingliao didn't dare to waste any time. He skipped unnecessary pleasantries, presented his prepared written report, and then dictated some key points and details.

After the Second War against the Ming Dynasty, there were no large-scale battles in the Northern Region, and the past three years have been relatively peaceful. Occasional border skirmishes with the Ming and Qing dynasties have almost always ended with the other side taking the initiative to back down, and Chen Yixin could not even find a pretext to start a war.

Taking advantage of the calm period of the past few years, the Northern Region has seized the time to vigorously develop its industry. The coal-iron composite industry along the Shenyang-Liaoyang-Anshan line has taken initial shape, and the steel produced not only meets the local needs of the Northern Region, but has also begun to be supplied to other parts of the country on a large scale.

As a result, the local military industry has improved its production capacity and technological level. The light artillery of the garrison troops has been deployed down to the company level, and the old Type 33 rifles have been gradually phased out, with a large-scale replacement of the better Type 48 rifles.

Moreover, the Northern Region sold a large amount of arms to the warring parties in the Japanese Civil War this year, including more than a dozen combat ships that were in dire need there.

The military production capacity in the south, especially the shipyard capacity, is struggling to meet both domestic and international demand, with shipbuilding orders in many areas already booked for two or three years. This is when the northern region seized the opportunity, making it one of the few remaining areas for Haihan with spare capacity.

But just like the arsenals in other regions, the warring parties in Japan had little cash left to pay for the purchase of military equipment, so they had to rely on population export or territorial concessions as a form of exchange, but the Northern Region had little interest in either of these.

The Japanese people are far less civilized than the Han Chinese of the Jiaodong and Liaodong Peninsulas. The Japanese archipelago is barren and prone to earthquakes, making it unsuitable for habitation. The northern region would be useless to them.

Yan Chujie interjected, "In arms trade with Japan, we shouldn't just pursue short-term profits. We need to keep them fighting for a long time. The longer the war goes on, the more arms we can sell. If necessary, we can provide long-term loans to our clients or allow them to pay in installments to prolong the war."

Chen Pingliao respectfully replied, "That's exactly what my father meant. As long as they still have the desire to buy weapons, we will do everything we can to facilitate the deal."

The Japanese Civil War took place after the Second Sino-Ming War and has lasted for more than three years. This war, orchestrated by Stevie Wonder, has almost exhausted Japan's national strength, while also allowing Haihan to free up resources to conquer other directions without having to worry about this ambitious neighbor.

Of course, Haihan Arms and Shipbuilding made a fortune from this opportunity, but it was merely a side benefit. Beyond profit, the Executive Committee was more concerned with completely destroying Japan's expansionist ambitions through civil war. That's why Yan Chujie reminded Chen Pingliao to focus more on long-term effects in arms trade.

Besides military trade, the troops stationed in the Northern Region have not forgotten their responsibility to expand the territory. They have been organizing people to explore unknown areas to the north and build settlements and farms.

However, the northern, cold lands are sparsely populated, and can only be used for production and construction for a few months each year. Progress is far slower than in the south, and it is already quite difficult to push the border northward by a hundred miles or so in a year.

As for building large cities in inland areas far from the coastline, the transportation issue alone is difficult to resolve properly at present, and it will take decades to see results.