1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 494 Completion of New Port
At the end of January 1630, the first training class for cadres of the Haihan Youth League quietly started a 1-day training course.A total of 90 young naturalized citizens from various regions under Haihan’s administration participated in this training class. During this training process, they will be exposed to administrative management, sociology, human resource development, organizational behavior, economics, etc. for the first time. There are more than a dozen professional courses such as science, law, survey and statistics, administrative document writing, etc.Although due to limited time and personal cultural quality, most of what they can learn is superficial, but in the naturalization system, these young people are the first batch of cadres who receive professional administrative training. The qualifications are quite different from ordinary naturalized civilian cadres.

In fact, the content of these courses, the young naturalized civilian cadres have more or less contact and practical operation in their previous jobs, but they have not been able to form a theoretical concept in their minds, let alone explore The laws among them are summarized into regularized and institutionalized conclusions.The course of the refresher class is to help them improve their theoretical level in combination with the actual situation, so as to be able to adapt to the requirements of the new job.

The location of the training class was not located in Fort Victory, or even in the area around Shengli Port, but next to the militia army barracks on the Luhuitou Peninsula.The advanced training class adopts the same closed management mode as the militia. The canteen and bathrooms are shared with the militia camp. It is basically the same as the militia except that it does not need to go out to exercise every day to participate in military training.

This is a very considerate arrangement for Fu Li who wants to serve in the militia.During the rest time after class, Fu Li almost always went to the playground of the militia immediately to watch their daily drills.

And Yu Xiaobao is busy communicating with other students in his spare time. It is difficult to have the opportunity to get in touch with so many naturalized civilian cadres of similar age in the system, and many of these students come from places that Xiaobao is not familiar with. Departments and positions are also a good opportunity for him to understand the operating mechanism of the entire Haihan social system.

The departments under the leadership of the Guangzhou Office are mainly in the fields of commerce and trade, finance, intelligence, shipping, immigration affairs and military affairs, while civil affairs, construction, industrial and agricultural production and other industries are still relatively unfamiliar fields for Xiaobao. If there is no such a training class Gathering together young elites from all walks of life, it is almost impossible for Yu Xiaobao to have the opportunity to intersect with these industries.

As for the faculty of the training class, it is probably the strongest in the history of the training class for naturalized civilian cadres. In addition to Ning Qi, Tao Donglai, Schneider, Yan Chujie and others also personally gave lectures.For the students who almost regard the executive committee as a god, the effect is equivalent to a chicken blood.

At this time, the students may not all be aware of the historical status they will have in the Haihan system. The "Central League Cadre School" that will be regarded as the starting point of officialdom in later generations has not yet been officially established, but in the chronological history since then, It is still customary to call them the students of the first regiment cadre school.Most of these students later grew up to be the first batch of naturalized leaders in various departments. Many historians believe that the power transfer process between the purebred Haihan people and the local people should also start from this Time begins to count.

At the same time as the training class for young cadres started, at the southern tip of Hong Kong Island, nearly [-] nautical miles away from Sanya, the new port project organized and implemented by the Ministry of Construction finally successfully completed the first phase of construction - located between Ap Lei Chau and Hong Kong Island The Shenwan Wharf in the middle of the bay was announced to be completed and put into use.

Of course, this so-called completion is actually only the completion of the construction of the dock embankment and trestle bridge. As for the various facilities on the dock, the dredging work in the port, etc., it still takes time to slowly improve them.The project volume of Shenwan Port only accounts for about one-third of the local port planning. In the later stage, there will be two adjacent harbor terminals in Tai Shue Wan and Aberdeen Bay, one south and one north. The construction, together with the military piers on the northeast sides of Ap Lei Chau, has basically completed the development of the southwestern tip of Hong Kong Island.

According to the conservative estimate of the provisional management committee, it will take at least half a year to ten months to complete the planned port construction project. As for whether it goes well or not, it depends on whether the material and personnel guarantees in all aspects can be maintained stable.And the plan to occupy the entire island of Hong Kong Island is probably unlikely to be implemented in the short term—after all, even if it is occupied now, there is not enough manpower and material resources for development and construction.

In the office of the Provisional Management Committee of Nangang, Hong Kong Island, You Yihan is exchanging views with visiting Chen Lin on the current situation in Hong Kong Island.

"So your side has no intention of expanding northward in the near future. Is your understanding correct?" Chen Lin asked cautiously.

Although he was a bit reluctant, Chen Lin, a timber merchant, was designated as a contact person by both the navy of the Ming army in the north and the Haihan people in the south, and was responsible for delivering messages for both parties in the middle.However, he soon realized the various benefits brought by this identity. Not only did he not need to pay any fees for calling at ports on the north and south sides, but he could also learn a lot of inside information from it—as long as he is not a fool, it is easy to pass these information into real money.

Chen Lin knew very well that what the Ming army in the north was most worried about was that the Haihan people would continue to attack other places on the island after occupying the harbor in the south, especially the Shau Kei Wan typhoon shelter where the naval army was located, which was almost the same as the northern coastline of Hong Kong Island. The best natural harbor happens to guard the throat waterway of Leiyumen. It is absolutely unbelievable that the Haihan people would not notice the importance of this place.Although the Haihan people proposed several rules for peaceful coexistence, the navy did not directly agree to it out of face considerations, but only acquiesced.For them, the verbal promises of the Haihan people didn't do much, and they couldn't give them enough sense of security, so Chen Lin had another task, which was to always inquire about the latest trends and intentions of Haihan's side.

But this time when he came to meet You Yihan, Chen Lin heard what the other person said, and it seemed that he didn't plan to set foot in the north of the island in the near future, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Boss Chen's statement is wrong." You Yihan shook his head and corrected: "Why is it expanding north or not? Our Haihan is not a separate country, and we are still stepping on the land of Ming Dynasty!"

"Yes yes yes, I made a slip of the tongue!" Chen Lin repeatedly apologized, and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.Of course, he will not take what You Yihan said completely seriously. Haihan has not established a country yet. However, if this development momentum continues, there may be a day when this group of people will really establish a country in the next few years. As for what they said The occupied land, could it be that the Ming government will obediently return it if they say something?

"Boss Chen, this is not the first time we have dealt with each other. After these few months, I believe you know a lot about us. You see, we are all peace-loving people. During the few months we have been here , we have not done anything that violates the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, there is really no need for those Ming soldiers in the north to use such malice to speculate on us." At that time, he was so at a loss, even in the field of diplomacy, which he was not so good at, he could safely boast some mysterious truths to foreign businessmen like Chen Lin.

"The purpose of our coming here is to lead the people here to build this place into a prosperous port so that everyone can live a better life." You Yihan said calmly: "We are just a group of people who want to There is absolutely no need for the imperial court to be so guarded against us as a businessman who does something beneficial to the people.”

"Yes, yes, Director You is right!" Chen Lin echoed repeatedly, but he was somewhat disapproving in his heart.

When Haihan first arrived here, he completed the land acquisition in a very short time. If the local people willingly sold the land to Haihan, Chen Lin would never believe it.And Haihan's ability to complete the land acquisition so quickly must have something to do with the hundreds of militiamen they sent.Afterwards, the few rules issued by the Northern Navy were no longer something that could be defined as "violating the laws and regulations of the Ming Dynasty".

As for loving peace, Chen Ping would not believe it even to death.On the pier, you can see a whole team of Haihan militia armed with live ammunition at any time, and the fort on the island across the strait is under construction day and night. Is that an illusion I saw?The Haihan warships that appear in the nearby waters from time to time, are they used to go fishing?

But having said that, when these news were fed back to the Ming army in the north one after another, the sailor general, who was still a bit angry, fell silent, and adopted the default rules for the several rules announced by the Haihan people. manner.If you insist on coming for peace, then at least this goal has been achieved.

The naval divisions of the Ming army have already chosen to be subdued. Chen Lin, as a middleman, will naturally not ignorantly stand up for the Ming army. As long as the Haihan people don't talk about starting a war, then the business can continue smoothly.Haihan's reputation in Guangdong and Guangxi's business circles is very good. After doing business with Haihan several times, Chen Lin gradually realized where Haihan's good reputation came from.

First of all, the payment method of Haihan people is very convenient. A thin registered bank note issued by Haihan Bank can complete the payment for the goods.Chen Lin only needs to take the bank notes to Haihan Bank outside Dongcheng to withdraw cash when he returns to Guangzhou, and the small-amount bearer bank notes issued by Haihan already have them in the commercial district of Guangzhou. Excellent payment reputation, a large number of transactions between merchants have adopted this new payment method, and the promotion of these financial means is also based on the good business reputation of Haihan people.With such a convenient payment method, Chen Lin no longer has to worry about traveling long distances with boxes full of cash.

Secondly, Chen Lin appreciates the efficient operation of Haihan in the business process. The time for the cargo ship under his name to stop and unload at Haihan Wharf basically does not exceed half a day. Completed at the same time, this greatly improved the efficiency of the use of cargo ships under Chen Lin's name.In the past, when his ship loaded goods to the northern port, it had to stay at least one night to complete unloading, but now that the time required for this link has been greatly reduced, Chen Lin can travel at least three more times a month on the voyage from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. Four back and forth, and this means that his monthly income can be increased by [-]%-this is a real benefit that can be seen and felt!

Chen Lin was also surprised by the huge demand of Haihan people for semi-finished wood.His original business scale was relatively limited, because there were not too many residents on Hong Kong Island, and there was not much demand for semi-finished timber.And after the Haihan people came here, they immediately started construction projects, and the orders they placed with him every month were almost five times that of the past—this was because there were already two other timber suppliers before him, who could distribute His share is very limited.

Haihan people do not repeatedly bargain with Chen Lin on the price, but have very strict requirements on the quality and delivery time of the goods. If their requirements are not met, the corresponding part will be deducted from the payment for the goods.But even so, the orders placed by Haihan have already made Chen Lin a lot of money. The profits in the short two or three months after the arrival of Haihan people last year are basically equivalent to the hard work in the past. one Year.

Purely from a business point of view, Chen Lin actually hopes that the Haihan people will not stop here, but continue to expand their territory to the north. In this way, there will be a steady stream of infrastructure projects to be carried out, and the Haihan people are very interested in timber. demand will continue.However, if the Haihan people continue to expand northward, it will undoubtedly hurt the interests of Daming. The more territory the Haihan people occupy now, the more difficult the situation for Daming will be in the future. Chen Lin still understands this truth, but which is more important? Heavy, Chen Lin was still uncertain for a while.

"I invite you to come here this time, and there is one more thing I want to tell you." You Yihan probably felt that the exchange of pleasantries was almost over, so he changed the subject and started talking about the business: "Our port has now begun to take shape. We are about to start running a formal management system..."

Chen Lin immediately sat up straight and listened carefully to You Yihan's words.Through this period of contact, he already knew that one of the characteristics of Haihan people is that there are so many rules, so complicated that even when walking on the road, whether to walk on the left or on the right must be stipulated.In the past, because the port project had not been completed, there was no system at all. Anyway, the ship would dock to unload the cargo when it arrived, and after unloading, it would collect the money and leave.Now that You Yihan took the initiative to bring up this matter, Chen Lin thought that there must be something special about it.

(End of this chapter)