1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 531 Worst Plan

Schneider obviously also noticed Li Jifeng's emotions, so he didn't delve into this issue any further. He changed the subject and said, "I can probably guess what Boss Li is worried about. The purpose of my coming here today is to invite Li Jifeng." Rest assured, Boss, we Haihan will not give up on our partners easily. If Boss Li has safety concerns, we also welcome you to move your family to Qiongzhou Island to settle down, where you can definitely get our comprehensive protection."

Li Jifeng said with a dry smile: "I have nothing to worry about, but there have been a lot of rumors outside recently, and I am a little worried that these rumors in the market will affect your reputation."

Li Jifeng didn't dare to show hesitation in front of Schneider. If the appearance of the two ends of the first mouse made the Haihan people suspicious, the cooperative relationship established with great difficulty may not be able to protect the Li family.Although the Li family's business has grown very large now, their status is not irreplaceable. In order to pursue more profits, their current main business has gradually shifted from traditional projects to the field of cooperation with Haihan people. Merchants who want to embrace Haihan's thigh have long lined up in Guangdong. I don't know how many people want to squeeze out the Li family. It is not too difficult for Haihan to find a substitute. difficult.

Schneider smiled and said: "It's normal to have rumors outside. After all, the business we are talking about is a big deal worth tens of millions of taels. There will be many people who covet these wealth. But Boss Li can rest assured that only we Haihan Recognized merchants are eligible to participate in the big money-making plan, no matter how much other people struggle, hehe... Nowadays, this Qiongzhou Island is not a place where everyone can get a foot in!"

Li Jifeng replied: "The leaders of Haihan are naturally very relieved. I don't know if the leaders have any specific instructions for this press conference?"

"I can't talk about any specific instructions, I just hope that you can be clear about your position and attitude, and then you can stand firmly on Haihan's side." Schneider paused, and then continued: "After all, we proposed this plan , there will definitely be a lot of doubts..."

Schneider dragged his tone here, and Li Jifeng took up the conversation very tactfully: "At that time, several commercial firms with whom I have good relations will come forward together to support your new plan. As long as a lot of money is poured down, those who question Your voice will naturally dissipate."

"I like to deal with smart people like you, Boss Li. It's easy, fun, easy to speak, and very worry-free." Schneider praised without hesitation: "If all the businesses we deal with can have Boss Li If I don't realize that, then I will really have a lot more peace of mind!"

Li Jifeng wanted anyone to be able to do what I did, so "Fu Ruifeng" is nothing!But having said that, there are so many rumors outside this time that Li Jifeng's mind is already a little loose, let alone those peripheral cooperative businesses.If it is said that no one among them started to think of other ideas, Li Jifeng would definitely not believe it.The Haihan people should have been aware of this potential risk, so Schneider personally dispatched to visit the business inn where the Li family and his son stayed.

In such a small place as Zhennan Port, when Haihan’s shopkeeper visited the most powerful merchant in Guangdong, he couldn’t avoid the eyes of interested people. I’m afraid that before Schneider walked out of the store, there would be at least Half the people know the news.Even if Li Jifeng didn't say anything, he would probably confirm the position of "Fu Ruifeng" and the Haihan people to wear a pair of pants.

Even if Li Jifeng did not express his attitude to clarify certain rumors unfavorable to Haihan until the shareholder meeting, people would think that this was the reassurance that "Furuifeng" had already received from Schneider, and maybe Li Jifeng was just trying to be able to monopolize it. More shares to maintain an ambiguous attitude.Li Jifeng can think of this possibility himself, and of course he also knows that other people will think in this direction. If "Fu Ruifeng" can't make such a move at the shareholders' meeting, the whole situation will still be under the control of the Haihan people. middle.What's more, Li Jifeng is not sure whether the Haihan people are secretly contacting other families as backups after finding him. If his side shrinks back, maybe someone else will come out to snatch "Fu Ruifeng" seat.

The three of Li's father and son sent Schneider away with low eyebrows, went back to the study and closed the door, Li Jifeng immediately ordered: "Second brother, you should take the boat back to Guangzhou tomorrow and take stock of the family property."

Li Po's eyes widened and he replied in puzzlement, "Father, what does this mean?"

Li Jifeng said: "If the Haihan people use the land in Qiongbei to openly attract business, this matter will definitely reach the ears of the government. At that time, the two sides can agree on the terms. If they can't agree, they will have to go to war. Think about it." , if Da Ming and Hai Han go to war, who will be the first to be unlucky?"

There is no good solution for taking a group of pirates who invaded Qiongzhou Island. Naturally, Daming does not have the ability to start a full-scale war with the Haihan people. At most, it is just a declaration of war.But even if war is declared, in order to demonstrate the majesty of the Ming court, some heads must still be cut off—for example, some comprador classes who have been sticking to the Haihan people who have made a fortune, such as "Furuifeng", which is well-known, I'm afraid they are the first batch of targets.

Previously, Li Jifeng was not very sure about Haihan's attitude on the Qiongzhou Island incident, so he only asked his two sons not to talk about it outside, but after talking face-to-face with Schneider just now, Li Jifeng has already realized it from what he said. Concealed information - Haihan will gradually disclose its control of the situation on Qiongzhou Island, and will use various methods to force the Guangdong government to accept this status quo.

If it succeeds, then everyone will continue to make money with the Haihan people. As for who Qiongzhou Island should belong to, the merchants who are qualified to participate in this matter will probably choose the side that is more beneficial to them, rather than focusing on loyalty to the court and the emperor. .If this kind of effort fails, then the group of people who are working hard with Hai Han now will be in bad luck, and they may be treated as scapegoats by the government—every family of these people is a big fat sheep, The money obtained from the house raids may be used by the Guangdong government to manage the court to settle the impact of Haihan's occupation of Qiongzhou Island.

Even if Li Jifeng believed that the strength of the Haihan people could withstand Daming's punishment, he, a businessman, could not withstand the anger of the government, so it was necessary to make some contingency preparations early.Li Nai's reaction was faster than his second brother's, and he had already come to his senses: "What does father mean, after counting the family property, first transfer some of it out?"

Li Jifeng nodded and said: "Count out the cash first, leave the share that needs turnover, and deposit the rest in Haihan Bank!"

"But if the government finds trouble with the Haihan people, they will definitely seize the Haihan Bank as well!" Li Po asked puzzled.

Li Nai explained: "Second brother, you don't have much dealings with Haihan Bank, so you don't know about it. No matter where the money we deposited, we just need to hold the bank notes and passbooks issued by Haihan Bank. The Haihan people just accept the debt. Even if the money has been confiscated by the government, we can still go to other places to get the money out, the government can't go to Sanya to seize the Haihan people's bank, right?"

"What if Hai Han refuses to admit it?" Li Po was still a little worried about the safety of his money.

Li Jifeng waved his hand and said: "Don't worry, the Haihan people regard reputation as more important than money. How can their reputation and reputation be something that our family can buy with money? If they don't admit it, then they are promoting it in Guangdong and Fujian. The circulating bank notes and banking system that have been around for several years are all abolished. The Haihan people will see more clearly than we do."

Li Po hesitated and said: "Just the silver in the silver cellar of Li Family Village is probably as much as 50 million taels..."

"Don't worry about how much, all the money that can't be used now will be deposited in Haihan Bank!" Li Jifeng didn't wait for Li Po to finish speaking, and interrupted him: "Even if the shareholders meeting needs to send money to Qiongzhou Island Putting money in, we don’t need cash anymore, we can just transfer money from the account to the Haihan people!”

Li Jifeng's determination is quite big, indeed because the current situation no longer allows him to continue to wait and see.Now he can no longer fall to Ming Ting's side, he can only choose to go on the ship of Haihan, and prepare for the worst in advance.If Daming and Haihan really turn their heads and declare war, then the only thing the Li family can do is to pack up their clothes and run away overnight, otherwise they may not be able to escape the end of a house raid.

From that night onwards, the commercial inn where the Li family and his son stayed suddenly became a social hotspot in Zhennan Port, and the bosses of various commercial firms lined up to visit.Needless to say, these people came to Li Jifeng, a "well-informed person", to inquire about the inside story after receiving the news. After all, Schneider thanked guests behind closed doors, and the only official news channel was the Li family.

Li Jifeng also couldn't laugh or cry at this situation, knowing that he was once again being used by the Haihan people, but he still couldn't show any dissatisfaction.He couldn't reveal too much about the future plans of the Haihan people, so he could only persuade every person who came to visit to let them go back and wait for the news.Of course, just talking nonsense will definitely not be enough to appease. Li Jifeng had to pat his chest again and again to assure everyone that as long as the Haihan people continue to launch investment projects, "Furuifeng" will still be the first. One keeps up with the support, and the investment will not be less than any previous shareholder investment conference.

After such a swearing, Li Jifeng finally calmed down a group of uneasy businessmen, and this situation lasted for two days, almost exhausting Li Jifeng in the shop.

On November 11, the general meeting of shareholders was finally officially held after a few days of delay.The reason why it was postponed for a few days from the original date was because the Executive Committee was worried that the presence of Schneider alone would not be able to suppress these unsteady businessmen, so they specially dispatched the "Prestige Signal" warship to go north to the Pearl River Estuary. Stay at Zhennan Port for a while, so that these people can have a close look at the strength of the Haihan Navy and help them build up enough confidence—of course, it can be regarded as a threat in disguise.

This measure has obviously achieved good results. When the merchants heard the news that Haihan's new warship was visiting Zhennan Port, they all rushed to the pier to watch it.The vast majority of businessmen have heard of the huge warships owned by the Haihan people, but only a few people have seen this kind of strange warships that occasionally emit black smoke passing quickly across the sea near Victory Harbor. There is absolutely no opportunity to watch it up close like this now.

"Prestige Signal" opened all the side gun windows "intimately", exposing the black hole muzzle to the public's sight.And this naked show of force calmed down the crowd of onlookers at the port without any suspense.This visible level of armed forces is obviously higher than that of the Daming Navy stationed in the north of Hong Kong Island by more than one level.Those with a little knowledge know that the old warships in Shuizhai do not have such real naval guns, they are just a few small-caliber Franc cannons.

In order to take care of the emotions of curious audiences, Schneider warmly invited ten representatives of the public to visit the boat.Of course, only those who have a close relationship with Haihan are eligible to be selected as representatives, such as Li Jifeng from "Fu Ruifeng", Zhan Gui from Zhan's Shipping Company, etc.

Naturally, this kind of visit will not allow the audience to enter the core area of ​​the lower deck, that is, to walk around on the top deck.However, several cannons were also arranged on both sides of the ship's side on the top deck, and the rigging system on the mast and the steering wheel control system on the back half of the deck were still very new things to Daming Maritime Merchants.As for the two waist-thick chimneys at the rear of the ship that protruded a long way from the deck, the crew did not explain their real purpose, but claimed that the bottom was the ship's galley, and the chimneys were just for the convenience of exhausting soot.

Although this kind of lie is a bit unbelievable, for visitors who have not seen the secrets below the deck, it seems that they cannot think of other possibilities.Only Li Nai, who has been to Shengli Port many times and knows a lot about Haihan Technology, can vaguely feel that this strange chimney is somehow related to the chimneys on the roaring steam locomotives on the land of Sanya.

The crew in charge of the tour guide explained to the visitors some general data of the ship, such as displacement, theoretical ship speed, firepower configuration, etc., any of these data is enough to make the hearts of these sea merchants beat for acceleration.All in all, this warship is not only big, but also fast, and the most terrible thing is that it has powerful firepower. In the current Ming Dynasty, there is absolutely no warship of the same level that can match it.In the end, the tour guide proudly declared that the Haihan militia already owned more than one warship like this, and would continue to build it to protect Haihan's maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.

(End of this chapter)