1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 497 The Third Anniversary Celebration
At present, the navy has enough combat ships to dominate the waters around Qiongzhou Island, and can radiate to the Pearl River Estuary, Beibu Gulf, and some coastal areas of the Indochina Peninsula. The Executive Committee believes that such military strength is enough to protect the existing coastal bases. It's time to free up part of the limited shipbuilding resources to make up for Haihan's lack of sea transportation capabilities.

It only took Haihan a very short time to evolve from the initial lease-buy to the stage of self-built ships. However, since most of the resources of the shipyard have been used in the construction of naval warships in the past two years, In fact, the construction of civilian ships is far from keeping up with the needs of commercial and freight development in the areas under the rule. Therefore, although there are two factories under the name of the Ministry of Shipping, Shengli Port Shipyard and Heitu Port Shipyard, they still need to purchase two ships from outside each year. A number of Chinese style sailboats are available to meet the needs of transportation tasks.

However, the carrying capacity, speed, and seaworthiness of Chinese-style sailboats are far from those of Haihan's self-built seagoing ships. Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Shipping have been looking forward to an early order from the Executive Committee to let the shipyard's production tasks From the military to the civilian population, build more cargo ships——When the southward route to Malacca opens, the Ministry of Shipping believes that at least [-] to [-] ships will be needed to use it, and the existing number of cargo ships is obviously not enough to satisfy the new route needs.

Although the naval officers headed by Wang Tom were not satisfied with the arrangement of the executive committee, at least they got two expensive main warships. In fact, there is nothing to complain about. You must know the value of these two ships. There are already more than [-] "exploration-class" civilian merchant ships, and the Ministry of Commerce is very jealous of this.Moreover, since these two ships are equipped with a steam power system, the usual maintenance and operating expenses are far greater than those of traditional pure sail-powered ships. Part of the military expenditure was used to maintain the operation of these two large ships.

Of course, this kind of thinking mainly comes from other departments, and the military doesn't think so.On the night when the navy held the "Majesty" battleship handover ceremony, the senior military officers had already held an internal meeting to discuss Haihan's next opponent in battle.If you want to maintain the important position of the military in the entire social system, the best way is not to stop taking military actions abroad.If peace is maintained for too long, there will always be people who will question the significance of spending huge sums of money to maintain the operation of the army, and take some military actions in a timely manner, while fighting against external hostile forces, they will also show their muscles to their subjects. From the perspective of the military It is also a necessary measure.

However, before formulating foreign military plans, the military still has an important task that must be completed during the third anniversary, and that is the upgrade of the military establishments stationed abroad.This is not just a form of adding a company and stationing two more platoons there as in the past few years, but to expand the scope of authority of troops stationed in other places while upgrading the establishment.

The Executive Committee has agreed in principle to the Military Commission's proposal to establish the three military regions of Hainan, Annan and Guangdong, and it is waiting for the third anniversary to be released.

Although the administrative levels of the three major military regions are the same, their respective functions are somewhat different.The current function of the Hainan Military Region is more similar to that of a garrison garrison. Its primary task is to protect the core base of Sanya and key production units such as Tiandu Industrial Zone, Yinggehai Salt Field, Shilu Iron Mine, as well as the resident groups on Hainan Island. The personal safety of hundreds of traversers.

The task of the Annan Military Region is relatively simple. It will be mainly responsible for safeguarding the safety of the Heitu Port mining area and maintaining the interests of Haihan in the various concession ports along the coast of Annan. In the future, the area that may be responsible will continue to extend south along the coastline of the Indochina Peninsula. .And there is another task worth mentioning, that is to maintain the military cooperation between Haihan and Annan, and to maintain the military suppression of Annan.

At present, the military cooperation between Haihan and Annan is still continuing. The Tushan training camp located on the coastline east of Thang Long Prefecture has been expanded several times since it was first built, and the training facilities have been gradually improved in the past two years.The military advisers of the militia have trained more than [-] musketeers and artillerymen for the Annan army here, and have conducted various trainings for hundreds of Annan officers, many of whom are young senior officers with a bright future like Zheng Ting .

Although Annan's military relied heavily on Haihan in terms of weapons and personnel training, the Military Commission did not relax its vigilance against Annan.As for the best way to prevent Annan from being half-hearted, the Military Commission believes that there is no other way than to maintain the superiority of the Haihan Militia in combat power. In addition to continuously upgrading weapons to increase combat power, it also needs to further expand the scale of the garrison. Increase the freedom of movement of the garrison.

Compared with the Annan Military Region, which is least likely to break out of war, the area under the jurisdiction of the Guangdong Military Region is undoubtedly the area most likely to experience uncontrollable situations among the three major military regions.Regardless of whether it is to attack the key areas along the coast of Guangdong, or to continue to expand its forces along the coast of Fujian in the northeast direction, the premise is to have a sufficiently strong armed force as the backing.With the construction of the new port on Hong Kong Island, the military has also seen the possibility of building a large military base along the coast of Guangdong.

Panyu, where the immigrant transfer base is set up, is too close to Guangzhou City. Under the current situation, it is not appropriate to station too many troops, so as not to irritate the local government in Guangdong.The area of ​​Dawanshan Island is too small, and the military strength stationed with two or three companies is almost exhausted, and the port is too narrow to dock the new main warships that the navy has just launched.Hong Kong Island, which covers an area of ​​nearly 80 square kilometers, obviously does not have so many problems. It has a large enough area for the military to set up large military bases on the island, and the strait between it and the mainland will also become the best defensive barrier.

April 1630, 4, February 1th in the third year of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Sanya, Hainan.

The scale of the celebration of the third anniversary has once again surpassed history, and the executive committee specially arranged a two-day national holiday to show the meaning of celebrating with the people.In addition to the customary military parade in the square in front of the gate of Victory Fort, there are also many spontaneously organized celebrations by the people this year.The streets of the Shengli Harbor Business District are decorated with lights and festoons, and the sound of firecrackers can be heard from time to time outdoors, which is even more lively than the New Year.

Except for the restaurants and restaurants that make a lot of money during this period, other businesses are not idle, and they have launched various discount advertisements to cater to this opportunity, hoping that this wave of festival consumption will bring them a lot of money income.

"Little Ma, move this stand out and place it in a conspicuous place at the door!" Li Qingyang loudly directed his staff to move out the advertising billboard that he had just written. On it was written a striking slogan in red paint—Celebrate the third anniversary , the discount is unlimited, all advanced tonics in this store are [-]% off!There is also a line of smaller words on the back: Naturalized people can enter the store with their ID cards to receive a free copy of insect repellent powder.

Li Qingyang didn't come up with this advertisement by himself, but He Qiang used his personal connections to go to the Ministry of Commerce to find someone from Haihan to write it.Li Qingyang is now not only the accountant of the Shengligang branch of "Fuji Pharmacy", but because of his good performance, he is now also taking on part of the duties of the second shopkeeper.After staying here for a few months, he has become very familiar with his new position, without any sense of disobedience, standing at the door of the store and directing the new clerk: "Don't put it on the street, the police will come later It will be punished! Yes, it will be placed under the eaves, facing the landscape avenue!"

It didn't take long for the billboard to go out, and naturalized people began to stop at the door. Li Qingyang was afraid that these people could not read, so he called another clerk to explain it outside the door.Not long after, people began to flock to the door. Fortunately, Li Qingyang had already expected such a result of distributing free items, so he hurriedly asked the other staff to set up two tables outside the door, and loudly instructed the people to line up at the door, so as to avoid the narrow space. After too many people poured into the store, congestion occurred, which prevented those buyers who wanted to consume from entering.

The cost of this insect repelling powder is extremely low, and the medicinal materials used are all cheap. "Fuji Medicine Store" prepared [-] copies for distribution a few days in advance, and the cost was less than [-] yuan. Ten yuan is the cost of printing the name of the shop on the wrapping paper.Judging from the current publicity effect alone, the money should be well spent.

He Qiang smiled and looked at the crowds surging inside and outside the store. This kind of lively scene is not easy to see in normal times.Since the cooperation time is long enough, He Qiang is very aware of the executive committee's habit of arranging celebrations at this time of year, so he arranged such promotional activities in advance.However, he handed over the specific matters to Li Qingyang, who did not expect him to handle them in an orderly manner. If he hadn't considered his special status, He Qiang would actually have the heart to recommend him to the general cabinet as "" Candidate for the next local director of Fu Ruifeng.

"Xiao Li, come, come, let the guys go to work, you come and drink tea with the old man!" After the event went on for more than an hour, seeing the order inside and outside the store, He Qiang called Li Qingyang back to sit in the store. Come down for tea.

"The old man just looked at the records at the counter. In just a short while, the medicinal materials in the store were sold for more than 700 yuan. This activity is really effective!" He Qiang said not without complacency.

Li Qingyang is also a smart person, and without losing the opportunity, he flattered him: "It's all because of Guanshi He's unique vision, clever means, and good leadership!"

He Qiang smiled and said, "Xiao Li, do you know what the Haihan people are celebrating these two days on a big holiday?"

"I have heard about it a little bit, but I don't know the secret." Li Qingyang replied: "I only know that three years ago today, the Haihan people crossed the sea and landed here, so they celebrate at this time every year, presumably also to commemorate them Come to this wonderful place!"

"A good place? When the Haihan people landed three years ago, it was still a barren beach. There were not many living people, let alone a port business district. Even pirates would not frequent here. What is it? Great place!" He Qiang shook his head and said, "It's not unreasonable what you said, but it's not the main reason."

Li Qingyang thought for a while and added: "I heard that the big iron boats that the Haihan people came on are all out of use, and they can't cross the sea to return to their homeland. This celebration may be a manifestation of their nostalgia for their homeland. ?”

He Qiang shook his head lightly and replied, "Maybe there are, but not all of them."

"I'm stupid, please advise Mr. He." Li Qingyang knew that he couldn't figure out the reason, so he resolutely gave up.He knew that the Li family behind He Qiang had dealt with the Haihan people for a very long time, and the degree of cooperation could be said to be the deepest among the merchants in the Ming Dynasty.And these inside information are what Li Qingyang is most interested in.

He Qiang looked around to see if there was no one around, and then lowered his voice and said, "Haihan's move is one of the important measures to solidify the public's consciousness, so that they will gradually forget their original identity and regard themselves as Haihan people."

Li Qingyang was startled when he heard this, and immediately understood the significance of such a large-scale activity by the Haihan people like a revelation.Except for a few hundred Haihan people who actually came across the sea, the local naturalized people are all composed of Han people, Li people, Miao people and Annan people. Under the long-term propaganda of the Haihan people, these people are afraid of their own nationality. I don't care so much anymore, and such a celebration undoubtedly gave them a very clear instruction - this festival is the exclusive festival of Haihan, and you who participate in this festival are Haihan people!
Li Qingyang recalled the faces he saw outside the store just now, and he could indeed see that the smiles on their faces came from the heart. Not only could these people enjoy the peaceful life brought about by the Haihan system, but they also had It is no wonder that the society in the area under Haihan’s rule is so stable. There has never been a large-scale movement against Haihan.

Ginger is still old and spicy!Li Qingyang sighed and thanked He Qiang for his guidance.

He Qiang waved his hand and said, "You don't have to thank me. In fact, after you have dealt with the Haihan people a lot, you can also figure out how they do things. Their ability to win the hearts of the people is a thousand times stronger than that of the imperial court! What the imperial court failed to do in Qiongzhou Island for hundreds of years, the Haihan people did it in three years after they came here, they should really celebrate it!"

At this time, Li Qingyang no longer regarded himself as an official of the imperial court. Hearing this, he didn't feel any anger, but just felt a little helpless.There are so many capable people in Ming Dynasty who have been ruling the country for hundreds of years, but they are not as good as this group of aliens who drifted here from overseas.He Qiang's words were very straightforward, and Li Qingyang could also feel his deep disappointment with the court.

(End of this chapter)