1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 480 Newport Development

Some merchant representatives from Guangzhou also arrived here by boat with Yu Xiaobao. The reason why they arrived here early is also very simple, that is to start building their own commercial warehouses here in advance.

Although the Wanshan port transshipment point built by Haihan at the Pearl River Estuary can also provide convenient transshipment services for Daming sea merchants, the scale of the local port is really small and cannot meet the ever-expanding trade between Haihan and Daming. need.Moreover, Wanshan Port is a military control area under the jurisdiction of the militia. Not only does it have many restrictions on ships and personnel arriving at the port, but it also does not allow merchants to build commercial facilities on the island by themselves. The well-built warehouses, commercial warehouses and other facilities will undoubtedly increase the operating costs of the merchants to a certain extent.

The development and construction of Hong Kong Island will change this situation. In the future, the role of Wanshan Port will tend to be mostly military, while the functions of trade and cargo transshipment will be more assumed by the port on Hong Kong Island.At present, the land designated by Haihan in the southwest of Hong Kong Island is smaller than that of the initial construction of Shengli Port. It has to be evenly distributed to dozens of merchants, and the area that each family can obtain is not too large.However, the goal of the Executive Committee is to annex the entire Hong Kong Island in the near future. By then, not to mention dozens of merchants, even hundreds of merchants will be more than enough.

Of course, what these merchants are looking at is not the geographical advantages of Hong Kong Island itself, but the current development project is led by Haihan.Haihan's ability in port development has been proved by two ports in Sanya, and its business reputation is also impeccable. If it were replaced by the local government to preside over this matter, there would be very few people who would respond.

The naval garrison of the Ming Army on the north side of Hong Kong Island apparently also heard some rumors, and sent several ships over for inspection in the first few days. After the "class" warship, it retreated immediately—the Haihan Navy opened the ship's gun windows very unfriendly at that time, revealing a whole row of black hole muzzles.Several ships of the Ming army added up to a total of two small-caliber bronze cannons. Of course they did not dare to attack Haihan. The officer leading the team gave an order, and the warships of the Ming army quickly left the area. Dangerous waters, turned back north.

Of course, the militia navy did not have the intention of having an armed conflict with the navy of the Ming army. The purpose of doing so was more to show their muscles.With the development of this seaport, a large amount of wealth and population will flow into the local area, and the local garrison, which has always relied on the mountains to rely on the mountains to rely on the water to draw water, may inevitably move their ideas here.The sooner you can show your muscles, the sooner you will get rid of some people's restless mind.

In addition to the hard method of threatening force, Haihan also prepared some soft measures to break down the vigilance of the Ming garrison on the island.Using small favors to win over the Ming army has already had many successful experiences on Qiongzhou Island. For the Ming army, which is in a difficult economic situation, these bribery methods are direct and effective, and they are rarely rejected.Coupled with Luo Shengdong's "consultant" to provide support, the relevant departments will not give gifts to the wrong people because they don't know the establishment of the military ranks of the Ming Dynasty.

The Executive Committee did not expect the Ming garrison on the island to voluntarily withdraw within a short period of time, and this was not something they could decide on their own. The transfer of these garrisons would have to be ordered by the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde himself.At present, the executive committee has not planned to expose the intention of annexing the entire Hong Kong Island. At this stage, it only needs to maintain a peaceful state with the Ming army on the island.Of course, it would be the best way to win over some soldiers of the Ming army, especially the sailors and crew members of the navy, and let them join the ranks of the Haihan Navy so as to destroy the opponent's combat effectiveness.

However, the small number of the Ming army does not mean that the executive committee will relax its control over this area.In fact, after the army expansion plan proposed by the Military Commission was passed before this, the preparations for the Guangdong Military Region are already underway.Although it is a bit exaggerated to call the establishment of a battalion a military region, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission still attach great importance to this step.

Prior to this, the garrisons near Guangdong were relatively scattered. In addition to the army and navy stationed in Wanshan Port, a small number of militia fighters were stationed in the immigration transfer base and Guangzhou Office in Panyu.With the gradual expansion of Haihan's control area in the mainland, the previous deployment of troops is no longer able to meet the needs of today's security defense.Among other things, the fort and other military defense facilities that the military plans to build on Ap Lei Chau require at least two companies of combat personnel to be stationed. Inside.

According to the intention of the Military Commission, the number of Haihan's troops stationed in the Pearl River Delta must be sufficient to ensure the safety of several major strongholds—at least to ensure that Haihan's interests in Guangzhou will not suffer a devastating blow.In addition to increasing the number of military personnel stationed locally, more importantly, the troops stationed in various places must be able to coordinate with each other and accept unified command.

At present, the leading group of the Guangdong Military Region favored by the Military Commission is still Yu Yao and Xiao Liang who were the first to go to the region.Both of them are from the military, and they have excellent professionalism. They have been stationed in Guangzhou for two years, and they have been partners for a long time. With a certain amount of actual combat experience in military operations, it can be said that there are basically no obvious shortcomings.Chen Yixin, a young military officer currently stationed at Wanshan Port, is very likely to be upgraded accordingly, from the current chief military officer of Wanshan Port to the army commander of the Guangdong Military Region.

Of course, just the expansion of the army is not enough, the navy must also have a corresponding expansion plan.In fact, the navy's expansion plan was approved by the executive committee earlier than the army, but because the navy's plan involves the construction of a large number of combat ships, the formation period of the army is much longer than that of the army. Today, the Haihan Navy's true significance The first main battleship on board is still in the outfitting stage, and there is still a lot of construction work that has not been completed, so the navy's expansion plan is also lagging behind.

The naval forces under the Guangdong Military Region planned by Wang Tom must have at least one 1500-ton steam-assisted power warship as the flagship, and it seems that it will take at least three to five months to realize this plan. It can only be realized if the installation and commissioning work can be completed smoothly. If something goes wrong in the middle, it will not be surprising to continue to postpone it later.

In addition, there is another reason that restricts the navy's military expansion plan, that is, the existing ports under the control of the Haihan Militia cannot dock a whole fleet for a long time, even Wanshan Port-if a future main battleship When a ship sails into the narrow port area of ​​Wanshan Port, it will be very difficult to change its position inside, and this will obviously not be conducive to the sailing of warships in emergencies.

After completion, the new port on Hong Kong Island will obviously not have such problems. There are two waterways in and out of the bay, one south and one north. Ap Lei Chau, which shelters the bay, will also build a coastal defense fort as a cover, and warships will be docked in the bay here. Obviously more appropriate.

Therefore, two reasons have forced the navy's military expansion plan to be postponed to the next year. Even if the navy has begun to train personnel to prepare for the next flagship trial, the official formation time of the Guangdong Military Region Navy is estimated to be greatly delayed. behind the Army.But even so, the Militia Navy has deployed several warships into the East Lamma Strait in the southwest of Hong Kong Island, patrolling the waters between Hong Kong Island and Lamma Island every day, bringing this area under the control of the Navy within.

That night, Yu Dashan walked into the cadres' residential area at the east end of the harbor with a bottle of "Sanya Special Brew" and a bag of peanuts brought from Shengli Port.The so-called cadre living area here is actually a collective dormitory built from prefabricated prefabricated houses operated by Daben. There is no dissatisfaction with the simple furnishings in the room.

Considering the actual situation of the father and son, the engineering headquarters allocated them a separate dormitory, which is considered a very generous treatment among the naturalized people.There is only a bunk bed, a wardrobe, and a set of tables and chairs in the room. The area is only eight or nine square meters. The usual solar LED light source is not installed, and only an oil lamp is used as a lighting object.

"Are you done?" Yu Dashan asked casually when he saw his son was still writing at his desk in front of the oil lamp when he entered the room.

"It will be fine soon." Yu Xiaobao replied without turning his head.

"Don't panic, take your time, and don't make any mistakes!" Yu Dashan hurriedly warned his son, fearing that his son would be anxious.

After Yu Xiaobao arrived at the port, he quickly devoted himself to local work. There is a large amount of data that needs to be summarized by him, and then reported to the Guangzhou Office, which will then go back based on Yu Xiaobao's feedback. Materials, organize manpower and corresponding materials in Guangzhou and send them there.Although this task cannot be said to be onerous, the responsibility is still quite heavy.

While doing his calculations, Yu Xiaobao recorded all kinds of statistical data received today on paper, and after about half an hour, he stretched and stopped.Looking back, my father was sitting at the door, looking up at the night sky, not knowing what he was thinking about.

Yu Xiaobao put the things on the table aside in a few moments, put the wine and food brought back by Yu Dashan on the table, and then went to the door to help him up: "Father, I'm done, come in and sit down !"

The father and son sat down at the table, and Yu Xiaobao brought the rice bowls for the two of them over, opened the wine bottle and poured the wine naturally.

Yu Dashan picked up the bowl and said, "Thank you!"

Yu Xiaobao smiled and said "hard work", picked up the bowl and touched it lightly, and then took a big gulp.

The two father and son peeled the peanuts and were silent for a while before Yu Xiaobao took the initiative to ask, "How is the situation at the dock site today?"

Yu Dashan nodded and said: "As usual, these workers are all from the base camp, and they are all familiar with the work. But the two boats of people who were brought here from Panyu today have a lot of problems!"

"Disobedient?" Yu Xiaobao asked.

"It's not just disobedience to discipline, a few guys planned to make trouble, but the militia members saw that the situation was not good, so they directly raised sticks, knocked over a dozen people on the spot, and took them all away. It is estimated that by this time they have been sent to It’s over there at Wanshan Port.” Yu Dashan took another sip from the bowl when he was excited, wiped his mouth and said, “I don’t know if these guys have received camp education when they were in Panyu, and they don’t know any rules. , When I arrived at the construction site, I was still asking how much I would pay for the work and whether the land would be allocated, so tell me, how is the management in Panyu?"

Yu Xiaobao replied: "My child knows a little about the inside story. Chief Sha, who is in charge of immigration affairs at the Guangzhou Office, has recently gone on a business trip. The people under him are not very capable. Probably not too concerned. When I write the report later, I will mention it.”

"Don't be troublesome!" Yu Dashan immediately stopped and said, "It's not something within your scope of work, so don't push yourself! You think you are doing your duty, but have you ever thought about it? Doing so is sweeping people's sand. The face of the chief! Besides, you are also a naturalized citizen, and you have to come forward to sue, how will your colleagues treat you in the future?"

"This..." Hearing what his father said, Yu Xiaobao hesitated a little: "Then I know about it, but it's not appropriate to ask, right?"

Yu Dashan shook his head again and again: "You have to pay attention to the method and method of doing things, and my father didn't tell you to ignore them! These new immigrants are disobedient, so naturally the police and the militia will teach them how to behave. And you are in charge of coordinating affairs. What the chiefs report is to count how many people here have been sent to hard labor camps for violating labor records. The chiefs are all shrewd people, and they will naturally see the problem from the statistics you have here. Who will be responsible for whom at that time If you take the blame, it has nothing to do with you directly."

"Daddy, you..." Yu Xiaobao couldn't help admiring that Jiang was still old and spicy. This kind of routine was really unexpected for a young man like him who had just started working.The reason is very simple, as soon as Yu Dashan pointed it out, he already understood it, but as the person involved, it was difficult for him to think about it.

"Take your time, you have something to learn." Yu Dashan was also somewhat proud of this.

Yu Dashan also encountered a similar situation in his early work. At that time, he also had a similar attitude to Yu Xiaobao, thinking that he must inform the chief as soon as possible to be considered responsible, but the consequences of the handling were not satisfactory.After a long time, he also gradually improved his working methods, trying to fulfill his duties as a foreman while minimizing offending people directly.

(End of this chapter)