1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 401 Developing the Four South Ports

No matter what the true thoughts of the viewers who watched this documentary short film are, the executive committee's goal of making the propaganda department work overtime to edit this film has been achieved.Because there is no more intuitive information dissemination channel, these spectators will add a lot of their own subjective opinions to the word of mouth, and after a few rounds of embellishment, when the news spreads, the Haihan militia will almost become a myth. The victorious heavenly soldiers and generals are here.

However, during the period when the Haihan militia went on an expedition, the work of the base camp did not stop, and Haihan's jurisdiction was expanding outwards at an alarming rate.In the first three months of this year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs introduced a total of more than 1629 immigrants from the mainland, and more than [-] immigrants from Annan, plus other people who came to Sanya by themselves through various channels. The population growth in the first quarter has exceeded [-].

At present, the total population of the area under the executive committee has exceeded [-], and three-quarters of them have obtained Haihan naturalization.Although the Executive Committee verbally acknowledges the existence and validity of dual native places, there is no doubt that quite a few naturalized citizens have gradually abandoned their status as "National Citizens of the Ming Dynasty".In particular, the Li and Miao ethnic groups from mountainous areas and the foreign population from Annan have a high degree of recognition of their new identities. For them, Haihan is a powerful and reliable regime. As for Daming or others What kind of regime—sorry, the people have never felt the benefits brought by these regimes, only endless taxes and labor.

For ordinary people, especially those refugees who came to Sanya because of famines and wars, the social system governed by the Executive Committee, which controls food, housing, birth, old age, sickness and death, is simply a paradise.For some people, the policy of not allowing private sales of land is a pity, but fortunately, under the rule of the executive committee, the only way to survive is to rely on land. There are too many jobs for the people to use their labor for. In exchange for the necessary living materials.As long as they have obtained the native place of the naturalized people, the living standard of the people is not just struggling to survive. They can see the hope of improving their living standards from the old naturalized people who joined the Haihan system in the early days, and even some Opportunity evolves from a laborer who governs people to a laborer who governs people.

The southern part of Hainan Island, including Yazhou, has always been sparsely populated. In addition, the background of the naturalized people recruited in the early stage is mostly poor. These two conditions made the Executive Committee implement what was originally regarded as The big problem of land policy did not encounter too much resistance, and some outside folk forces who tried to fight against the executive committee were quickly removed by the militia before they formed a climate.And the only local government in Daming that can support the landlord class has long since become the spokesperson of the Haihan Executive Committee, so naturally it will not jump out to oppose the Executive Committee, the most powerful landlord on the island.

It is based on the land policy of collective ownership that the executive committee can organize efficient agricultural production, thereby liberating more labor from the land and investing it in manufacturing, commerce and service industries, making Sanya ahead of schedule. Several years into the atmosphere of modern industrial society.

With the gradual commissioning of the Sanya Inland Port, the maritime trade driven by the two ports of Sanya Port and Shengli Port has become more and more prosperous.After nearly two years of implementation of the free port policy formulated by the Executive Committee for the Sanya region, a large number of Ming maritime merchants have gradually shifted their trading locations from Guangzhou in the mainland to Sanya.Not only can you buy various commodities from the West here, but more importantly, the origin of Haihan commodities is far greater than that in Guangzhou, and you can also trade by barter.There are no high taxes in Sanya, no bullying by foreigners, and it is far better than Manila and Batavia, which are dominated by ghosts.

The increasingly mature financial system of Haihan Bank has also provided great convenience for the development of maritime trade in the Sanya area. Maritime merchants with large trade volumes can cross the ocean with only a bank note issued by Haihan Bank. Will no longer be intimidated by carrying chests of gold and silver outside.In addition to Guangzhou, Haihan Bank has established branch offices in Huizhou, Chaozhou, and Zhangzhou in Fujian Province, which can provide local merchants with universal deposit and withdrawal financial services.More and more maritime merchants are getting used to using Haihan Bank's bank notes, and even among some well-connected merchants, the freely transferable bearer Haihan bank notes have initially possessed the ability to pay in currency.

This significance is greater than that of the circulation notes used in the jurisdiction. The function of the circulation notes is more to allow the financial sector to control the local economic scale and price level, which is a compulsory financial measure.And the bank note has the ability to pay externally, and its reliability comes from the self-recognition of users, which means that the credit of Haihan Bank is enough to start absorbing more funds from Daming to invest in the construction of Hainan Island Come.As for how to absorb more funds, the operation of "Joan Lianfa" over the past year has provided the best model.

At present, the capital invested by "Qiong Lianfa" in Sanya has far exceeded the 10,000+ principal when it was established a year ago. The latest data provided by Schneider is 42 yuan, which covers more than 20 investment projects, including Infrastructure, water conservancy, transportation, food, spices, sericulture, shipbuilding, transportation, manufacturing and many other fields.Among them, infrastructure, spices, transportation and other projects that have achieved rapid results have begun to make considerable profits.Shareholders have long forgotten all the scruples they had at the beginning. Now as long as the Ministry of Commerce launches any new projects, "Qiong Lianfa" will not care about 21's subscription first.However, when the investment of "Joan Lianfa" was still in its infancy, business leaders headed by Schneider were already planning new investment areas.

"This is the pipa crab and drumstick snails sent from Lingshui. It is said that they are local specialties. Everyone has a good meal today." Tao Donglai greeted everyone: "Move your chopsticks, let's talk while eating!"

Pipa crab, also known as "Jiong Beast Crab", is a rare straight crab. This kind of crab has a strange appearance, large body and fat meat, and delicious taste.Chicken leg snails are commonly known as "beauty's legs", and the meat is plump and tender. However, these two types of seafood are only produced in the Lingshui area, and the current season happens to be the peak fishing season.Lingshui County is only separated from Tielu Port by a bay, and the voyage is more than ten nautical miles. The local fishermen also know that the area under Haihan rule in the south is relatively rich. Since last year, they have transported their catches to Tielu Port and even Shengli Port. For sale, specialties such as crab and drumstick snails will naturally not be missed.

Today's occasion was led by Tao Donglai. The executive committee and some heads of economic and trade units were gathered together for an outdoor dinner party on the front deck of the "New World". The theme was to discuss the next investment direction, or It is more accurate to say that the next step of external expansion.

After everyone ate and drank for a while, Tao Donglai brought up the topic: "As you all probably know, we have basically controlled the southern coastal area of ​​Hainan Island, and are gradually controlling the waterways entering and leaving the Beibu Gulf. Our main goal in the next step is to Obtain the actual control of the sea area from Guangzhou to Hainan Island, and go south to the east of the Indochina Peninsula. Considering the long coastline on the east coast of the Indochina Peninsula, we have selected four new port areas in the south before this expedition As a springboard. We have finished the battle, and now we need to consider how to save time, effort and money to build these places. I hope everyone can brainstorm on this matter and come up with ideas together.”

"Why don't we first consider developing near the Pearl River Estuary? We now have more than [-]% of immigrants and [-]% of maritime trade passing through the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, but we only have a small Wanshan Port there, and it is a military-civilian port. However, the actual protective effect is very limited. Although we defeated Liu Xiang at the end of last year, the defeat was only Liu Xiang, and the 'Eighteen Zhi' has not yet lost to us. If they withdraw from the Fujian battlefield, then ten thousand The garrison at Shangang probably won’t be able to stop them at the mouth of the Pearl River.” Yue Zhiyun from the Shipping Department first questioned Tao Donglai’s opinion.

"The establishment of a large stronghold at the Pearl River Estuary, especially a stronghold with obvious military uses, is a relatively sensitive matter for Ming Dynasty, and we must be more cautious." Tao Donglai explained: "Of course this is not the case. It means that we will not do anything. In fact, the Guangzhou Office has begun to study the local situation this year to see if we can find a solution that the Ming government can approve, so that we can build a larger seaport base near Hong Kong Island. Don't worry, if there is a clue about this, the first non-military unit to receive the news will definitely be your shipyard."

The Executive Committee has long wanted to set up a large-scale military stronghold at the mouth of the Pearl River. The emergence of Wanshan Port is more like a transitional measure. The target you want to touch.And in order to achieve full control over the waters of the Pearl River Estuary, the navy must continue to expand on the existing basis, which is why Tao Donglai said that the shipyard will be the first non-military unit to get the news.

Ning Qi also added: "Whether it is the northern part of Hainan Island or the area near the Pearl River Estuary, at this stage we have to consider Daming's reaction, and the means should not be too radical. As you just said, our current main trading partners and immigrants The source is still Da Ming, and the relationship with Da Ming must be kept as peaceful as possible, it is easy to tear a face apart, but it is difficult to mend it again."

Gu Kai asked: "To develop the area on the Indochina Peninsula, the investment is much greater than that of Hainan Island. Should we also introduce foreign shareholders as before?"

"The current idea of ​​the Ministry of Commerce is to copy the previous practice of establishing 'Qiong Lianfa' and set up a similar institution in Annan to invest in the development of the southern coastal areas of the Indochina Peninsula." Schneider explained: "However, in view of the actual situation in Annan, There are probably not many real businessmen among the shareholders of this institution.”

Regardless of whether it is South Vietnam or North Vietnam, foreign trade has always been firmly controlled by a very small number of privileged classes. Therefore, most powerful merchants in Annan basically have official backgrounds, and those who have the financial resources to participate in the development plan of Haihan , the vast majority will also come from this group.Most of the people here have a better understanding of the situation in North Vietnam. Schneider doesn't need to speak too bluntly, everyone can understand the meaning.

"If there is official Annan's intervention, will there be troubles in the future?" Gu Kai's question undoubtedly represents the thinking of most people present.

Although the shareholders of "Jiong Lianfa" are also inextricably linked with the Ming government, they have no foundation in Hainan Island. How the investment projects of "Qiong Lianfa" in Hainan Island will be operated depends on the basic principles of the shareholders. They can only obey the arrangements of Haihan's side, and their backgrounds will not be of any use here.However, if we develop in a similar way in Annan, we have to consider the official influence on specific project operations. After all, those places still belong to Annan’s land in name, and a lot of manpower and materials need to be obtained locally during the development period. , if the two partners have different opinions, then Haihan's influence in this development organization may not be comparable to the degree of control over "Qiong Lianfa".

"I'm not that pessimistic." Schneider wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and then seriously explained his point of view: "If there is a moderate official intervention, our difficulty in obtaining manpower and materials will be greatly reduced, and there will be more There are many opportunities to promote our financial system and values ​​to the Annan court. Don’t forget that when they stretch out their hands, they also leave room for us to reach in. If this kind of opportunity requires us to sacrifice moderate benefits in exchange for I think it is acceptable, after all, in the long run, we still need to try to keep Annan and our interests aligned, so that the cooperative relationship can go further."

"Of course, we must limit Annan's official involvement in the development project in advance through the contract to ensure that our core interests will not be infringed. As for the drafting of the provisions, please rest assured that it will be up to me and Gu Kai The barrister drafted it himself, and will never leave any loopholes for them to exploit." Schneider said and patted the back of Gu Kai next to him.

Gu Kai shrugged and said: "I have to say that I didn't know that this guy would drag me into the water beforehand, and I won't take the blame for it!"

There was a burst of good-natured laughter from everyone, and Tao Donglai took over the topic and said, "As to whether the advantages of this method outweigh the disadvantages or whether the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, I also had an argument with Mr. Shi, but in the end I was persuaded by him. Because if we want to recruit local labor and prepare materials for development on our own, it will be no less difficult than repeating the process of developing Victory Port after we crossed, but I think no one is willing to spend the same amount of time now And energy to do the same thing again, with the help of Annan's official influence, we can compress the required time to a quarter or even less than the estimated time, and take such a small risk for this, I think is worth it."

For the group of traversers like Haihan, there is no question of feasibility in order to realize the development of the Indochina Peninsula, it is just a matter of time, but this seemingly unimportant factor is what the traversers pay the most attention to—— They choose to come to this time and space because they want to gain greater power, more benefits, and even pass on their fame and wealth to future generations in their limited lives. Time is the biggest obstacle restricting their achievements.

Every traveler wants to see the day when the Haihan regime stands in the east of the world before he gets old, and it will take several years of struggle to achieve this goal. In half a year, they might still have a chance to see Haihan's rise in their prime.

Establishing a stronghold in the Indochina Peninsula is a necessary springboard for Haihan forces to go south to compete for golden waterways such as the Strait of Malacca, the Sunda Strait, and the Lombok Strait in the future. After controlling these key points, Haihan can free up his hands to slowly expand The South China Sea draws out a sphere of influence, thereby establishing its own maritime exclusive economic zone, and controlling the only channel for maritime trade between the East and the West.Of course, to achieve this goal, Haihan still has a lot of work to do, and even prepares for a large-scale war. Old western maritime powers like the Netherlands and Spain will not voluntarily withdraw from the Far East because of the appearance of Haihan. area.The rise and fall of new and old forces in the region will inevitably be accompanied by the outbreak of war, and only force can determine the final ownership of these regions.

The process of achieving this goal may take five years, or eight or ten years, but if there is an opportunity to shorten this process, even if there are some risks, it is worth bearing——Tao Donglai’s point of view is like this, If the introduction of Annan's official power in the development of the four southern ports can help shorten the construction process, it will be a cost-effective solution for time-valued travelers.

After Schneider and others analyzed and explained the pros and cons in turn, no one questioned this general direction anymore. After all, it is the common goal of everyone to realize the rise of Haihan as soon as possible. Reasonable choice.

After the general direction is finalized, the rest is to discuss the details of various operations.Prior to this, Haihan has developed three ports in the Annan area, Heitu Port, Tushan Port and Yongan Port, and has accumulated certain experience in the development of overseas ports.However, the concession area of ​​the four southern ports is significantly larger than the two ports of Tushan and Yong'an, and the development zone demarcated by Cam Ranh Port even exceeds that of the northern Heitu Port, so it will still be quite difficult to operate.

After the business department has finalized the general framework, Haihan will send envoys to visit Thang Long Mansion and propose a formal cooperation proposal to the Annan court.If all goes well, the construction works at these four ports can begin in the first half of the year.

(End of this chapter)