1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 451 Negotiations Again
If it is only for civilian purposes, the Ming government is proposed to build a wharf and port on Hong Kong Island, and the possibility of success is not small. After all, this is a matter that can receive actual benefits in a short period of time for the official handlers.Taking a ten thousand step back, even if Hai Han can't apply for it himself, he can still find an agent to do it. Most of the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" are wealthy businessmen from Guangdong, many of whom have more or less official backgrounds, and there are still many ways to go.For example, when Dawanshan Island was developed, the construction of facilities on the island was registered with the government in the name of "Furuifeng".

Moreover, this matter does not necessarily have to be bundled with the arms transaction. If it is done properly, it is also feasible to promote this as a separate project.However, this matter involves too many aspects, and it is necessary to consider how to operate in order to obtain more political and military benefits. Even if the Guangzhou Office has a very high degree of freedom, I am afraid that it cannot be arbitrarily arbitrary, and it is still necessary to ask the executive for instructions. The committee is in compliance with the procedures.

In addition to political and military considerations, Guangdong does not have the ability to independently develop Hong Kong Island. Such a large-scale harbor infrastructure project cannot be implemented without technical and material support from the base camp.However, due to the channels of dissemination of information, there is a piece of information that they do not understand, that is, the executive committee is now worrying about how to implement the Shilu project while also taking into account the development of the southern Annan seaport, and at this time If the Guangzhou Office comes up with a development plan for Hong Kong Island, it will undoubtedly put the Ministry of Construction, which is already on the verge of overload, into an overwhelmed situation.

Haihan has gone through the most difficult period of struggle in the first two years after crossing, and now has a base area under certain control, an organized armed force, a relatively stable output of industrial and agricultural products, and foreign trade routes, and the population is also increasing. keep growing.Judging from various data, it can be said that Haihan has entered a period of rapid development.A notable change brought about by this development is that the pursuit of increasing the scope of the control area has become more and more prominent.Whether it is the Executive Committee or the agencies stationed abroad, they are actively seeking opportunities to expand Haihan's sphere of influence.

This trend is of course a good thing in the long run. After all, everyone travels to this time and space in a group, in order to be able to establish a great power across continents and seas one day.In the limited life span, it has become the common wish of almost everyone in the heart to expand the scope of control of this emerging regime as much as possible.But at the current stage, this trend of outward expansion has encountered a temporarily insurmountable problem, that is, Haihan's current infrastructure capacity is not enough to support the simultaneous construction of multiple large-scale projects, let alone these The area where the project is located is often quite far from the base camp. Even in the time and space before the time travel, it is not easy to operate such a large-scale engineering project that is constructed across regions.

Among the cross-travel crowd, there are only a dozen or so people working in the Ministry of Construction, many of whom are half-baked, have only studied surveying and mapping or done decoration, and were included in the list of the Ministry of Construction when they were assigned units.However, there are only a handful of technical backbones who have actually obtained various qualification certificates and have practical experience in construction sites.

Of course, the executive committee has long been aware of the troubles that this shortcoming will cause in the future. Therefore, among the immigrants recruited by Haihan, almost all those who have experience in construction such as carpenters and masons are recruited by the civil affairs department. They were selected and assigned to the Ministry of Construction, and those who had expertise in this field in the recruitment of immigrants in the mainland would also be given a promise of better treatment.However, despite the many measures taken by the relevant departments, the growth rate of professional talents in the Ministry of Construction is still not optimistic. There are more than forty craftsmen, and the number of third-level craftsmen who can independently build houses, docks, water conservancy facilities, etc. is only the same as the number of cross-travelers in the Ministry of Construction.

However, the number of laborers used in a large-scale engineering project is thousands, and the required on-site command personnel often have to be dozens or even hundreds.Although the Ministry of Construction has now accepted a lot of young people into the industry as apprentices, these people can only do odd jobs in the past two years. The technical personnel who are really responsible for engineering construction will still be a major part of the Ministry of Construction for a period of time to come. bottleneck.

However, for an organization like the Guangzhou Office, the shortcomings of the Ministry of Construction are not within their scope of consideration. How to achieve external expansion quickly and well is the theme of their work.Just two days after the Guangzhou Office discussed related matters internally, He Xi went to the city again.

He Xi can now be regarded as a well-known social figure in Guangzhou City. When entering and leaving Guangzhou City, he no longer takes a sedan chair like in the first two years, but uses a horse-drawn carriage specially built by the headquarters for the Guangzhou Office.This kind of western-style carriage with side-opening doors was considered a rarity in Guangzhou at this time. It was not only equipped with a flexible steering system, but also used the spring shock absorber and wheel hub bearing system produced by the military industry department of Shengli Port.Although due to the manufacturing process, the durability of these parts is far from comparable to that of the time and space before crossing, the carriages using these "advanced" parts are indeed outstanding in terms of ride comfort, surpassing the Chinese-style carriages on the market a lot.Apart from the Guangzhou Office, only rich merchants like "Furuifeng" who have a close relationship with Haihan and can afford money have a few of these carriages.

When the black carriage approached the east gate of Guangzhou, the soldiers guarding the gate moved away from the deer village in the middle of the road early, and the groom sitting in front skillfully took out a small ingot of silver and threw it to the waiting soldiers. head, and said loudly: "This is Master He's reward, brothers take it to drink!"

"Thank you, Master He, for the reward!" Amidst the thank-you voices from the soldiers, the carriage that He Xi was riding in didn't even stop at the city gate for inspection, and drove directly into the city.

This is not because He Xi has developed a habit of extravagance, but it is indeed necessary for work.The objects he visited in the city were often people in the government, and it was unlikely that he would visit these people empty-handed, and the car would often carry things like gold, silver and jewelry.In addition, as a precaution, an iron sheet was added to the splint on the car to make a compartment for placing weapons.If someone searched it, it would not be difficult to discover the secrets on this car, so He Xi had already bought off the Ming army at the south gate, and there was no need to stop for inspection when entering and leaving the gate.

Of course, this kind of super-standard treatment is not unique to the Guangzhou Office. Seeing He Xi's example, several wealthy businessmen followed suit, and obtained the right of free passage in and out of the city gate in the same way.And the Ming army who were in charge of guarding the south city gate also benefited from this. On average, they gained hundreds of taels of silver every month, which can be divided into one cent.

He Xi sat in the carriage, not paying too much attention to what happened outside.He was still thinking about the information provided by Yu Yao, and was thinking about how to negotiate with the government about Hong Kong Island.

The place the carriage drove all the way was not the government office. After entering the city, it turned to the south city and stopped at an alley.The guard sitting at the front of the car jumped down and opened the car door for He Xi.Now when He Xi enters the city by car, he usually has two attendants.Of course, the establishment of these two people is field operations personnel belonging to the Ministry of Security, and they are experts selected by He Xi himself.

He Xi first handed the briefcase to the attendants outside the car, then got out of the car, and walked straight into the alley.After the attendant closed the car door, he followed behind him with a briefcase.

This alley is not deep, there is only one door inside, and a plaque with the word "Xiyuan" is hung on the door.He Xi stepped forward and knocked on the wooden door with ease, and soon someone came to open the door and welcomed them in.This alley looks inconspicuous from the outside, but when you enter the courtyard, you will have a different view. There are all kinds of flowers, plants, trees, pavilions and pavilions in the courtyard.The center of the courtyard is a small pond. The gazebos, terraces, corridors, rockeries and other scenery in the courtyard are all gathered around the pond, which has the flavor of Suzhou gardens surrounded by mountains and rivers.

A mid-mature woman greeted her from the house, and greeted her from afar: "Master He, but it's been a while since you came to our place for fun!"

He Xi responded with a smile: "I came here three days ago, Li Sanniang, don't think I was drunk that day and don't remember!"

"Master He has a good memory, but Sanniang is right. If you don't come for a day, this Qiuju girl will spend her days thinking about you!" Go, jokingly said: "If Mr. He doesn't come to see often, I am afraid that sister Qiu Ju will lose weight day by day."

This courtyard is actually a romantic place, but because the level of reception is relatively high, the people who come here to consume are all local upper-class people, so it is not as lively as ordinary brothels.If you look at the time and space before He Xi's time travel, except that there is no membership system, this is basically the business model of a private club.

"Has Master Liu from the government office arrived?" He Xi is not interested in caring whether the girls here will really forget about eating and drinking because he hasn't come for three days. The purpose of his coming here today is not for his own entertainment, but to make an appointment. Master Liu Qian from the government office came to talk about things.

"Master Liu hasn't arrived yet, Mr. He can have a drink first, listen to the music, sit down and have a rest." This Li Sanniang greeted her here, and she also had some eyesight. Seeing that He Xi didn't want to talk to her more, she stopped Stop talking.

Li Sanniang brought He Xi and his entourage into a flower hall, and then greeted: "Boss He, sit down for a while, and the old man will serve wine and food. Miss Qiu Ju will be here soon."

A moment later, a young girl with an immature appearance entered the room together with the waiter who was carrying the wine and dishes. The little girl gave He Xi a blessing, then sat down obediently beside him, reached out to pick up the wine pot and poured it for him. Drinking wine, while the entourage standing next to him retreated to wait outside the flower hall door with great interest.

He Xi had business in mind, and was not in the mood to tease the little girl. He just took a sip and put down the wine glass, tapped his fingers on the table, thinking about the negotiation strategy later.The little girl whose stage name was Qiu Ju also probably knew the prestige and status of Boss He, so she didn't dare to talk to him, but just sat beside him silently.

"Boss He, I'm sorry, I'm late today!" Following the voice, a middle-aged man with a goatee walked into the room, cupped his hands at He Xi, and said, "It's really a matter in the yamen. Too many, I couldn't leave, so it was delayed until this hour."

He Xi got up to respond, with a smiley expression on his face: "Master Liu has a lot of work, so it's too abrupt for me to meet up today, please don't blame Master Liu!"

The two greeted each other with a few greetings, and then took their seats together.Liu Qian said with a smile: "Boss He, this is not the first time you and I have dealt with each other, so you don't have to be so polite."

"It should be, it should be." He Xi looked very modest, and personally held the pot and poured a glass of wine for Liu Qian.If it is someone who is familiar with him, it is difficult to connect his current appearance with the spy chief who built Haihan's intelligence agency behind the scenes.

He Xi tilted her head slightly and ordered: "Qiu Ju, go and urge the kitchen to get the food and wine ordered quickly. Master Liu must be very hungry when he is so busy."

There were already six or seven hot dishes on the table at this time, but He Xi was just looking for a reasonable excuse to spend.The entourage at the door immediately closed the door from the outside, so that the two people in the room could discuss business without being disturbed.

Liu Qian put down his chopsticks slowly, and took the initiative to ask: "Boss He specially invited me here today, probably because of the things we talked about last time, right?"

"Half yes, half no." He Xi nodded and said, "I don't know how Mr. Liu thinks about the sale we talked about last time after he went back?"

Liu Qian responded: "Since you asked, you must have made up your mind to accomplish this, so you might as well listen to me and tell you the way to do it."

"Listen carefully!" He Xi picked up the jug and refilled the glass in front of Liu Qian.

"The arms produced by your Haihan are said to be very sharp, even better than the weapons of the Portuguese in Haojingao, and there is no limit to the quantity, so you can buy them openly. This is a good thing. But..." Liu Qian started talking Turned around: "Once this transaction is concluded, the money involved will be around 10 taels. With such a large transaction amount, this is a conspicuous piece of fat!"

He Xi replied: "Master Liu is right, but what joints should be repaired and who can go around directly, it still needs Master Liu to show me a clear way."

Liu Qian waved his hand and said: "I can't give advice, what I said in this room today is just the words of a family after drinking, let me say it, and you just listen to it."

(End of this chapter)