1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 553 Li Nai's Routine

After the banquet, Li Nai invited Yan Mingjun and Li Jin to his home as promised.Other alternate officials, their family members, subordinates, and servants can only live in the temporary accommodation arranged by the local port administration—the Haihan people call it a guest house.Yan Mingjun also went to see the place where he lived in the afternoon. Although it was just a two-story wooden inn with poor conditions, it was clean and tidy, and it was much better than the living environment on the ship.

However, their fleet temporarily stayed overnight at the Lijiazhuang Wharf, and their activities were restricted to the vicinity of the pier, and they couldn't even go to Lijiazhuang, which was a mile away.When Yan Mingjun and Li Jin followed Li Nai out of the dock area, they found that there were indeed red and white warning lines drawn on the ground at the entrance and exit, and there were armed militiamen on duty.It seems that the area of ​​activity that Li Jiang mentioned earlier on the boat is not a fiction, but a rule that is actually being implemented.

Beyond this isolation line is a larger activity area, including an immigrant camp that can accommodate thousands of people, and Lijiazhuang, which currently has more than 300 residents.Outside this large activity area, that is the scope that really belongs to the jurisdiction of Panyu County, Guangzhou Prefecture of Ming Dynasty.

After encountering the banditry that almost destroyed Lijiazhuang three years ago, the Li family clan learned a lesson and specially invited the Haihan Ministry of Construction and the military to redesign the peripheral defense system of Lijiazhuang. The shape of the bastion-style defensive wall is similar to that of the Victory Fort in Sanya. Pearl River water to strengthen the defense.

According to the design standard, under the condition that weapons, ammunition and combat personnel are in order, the defense of Lijiazhuang Fortress cannot be breached by a small group of armed forces. There is hope to capture here.Once the personnel stationed in Guangzhou find that the situation is not good, they can first withdraw from the Guangzhou Office to here, and then rely on the local defense facilities to hold on until reinforcements arrive.

Li Jin was naturally a man of knowledge. Although it was already dark at this time, Twilight could still see the general appearance of the castle clearly.Although Li Jin didn't quite understand the meaning of the strangely shaped outer wall, he recognized the fort facilities on the top of the wall.At the moment, he didn't care about being abrupt, so he asked Li Nai: "May I ask, Young Master Li, can I go up this wall? Can I let the officer go up and have a look?"

Li Nai refused his request with a smile: "I'm afraid I can't do it. The bastion of Lijiazhuang was designed and supervised by the Haihan people. The Haihan people don't want their ability to build fortifications to be learned by others, especially this The method of building the bastion, I signed a non-disclosure agreement with them at the beginning, and paid a big price before they were willing to help my Lijiazhuang build this fortification. Except for the militia and clan elders, others are not allowed to go there without permission of."

Li Jin muttered: "It's really so powerful to make it so supernatural?"

Li Nai just smiled and didn't answer. He has witnessed how powerful Haihan's artillery is.Ordinary bandits and rogues were nothing more than nothing, not worth mentioning at all. Even the regular army of the Ming Dynasty would not be able to take advantage of the Lijiazhuang militia that Haihan provided arms and personally drilled.Now the Panyu county government doesn't dare to intervene in the affairs of the Lijiazhuang area, to a large extent because the civilian armed forces here are far superior to the official, and the Li family is now a rich man in Guangdong. Who wants to meddle in other people's business when they can get money every year by closing their eyes.

Yan Mingjun had been a local official for many years earlier, so he has a more personal experience of the situation of these civilian armed forces.In fact, civilian armed forces exist everywhere, but the degree varies.And here in Lijiazhuang is indeed the ultimate that Yan Mingjun has ever seen. The militia soldiers here are almost all issued with matchlock guns made by Haihan, and the gray military uniforms they wear are the same as those of the Haihan militia, except that the military uniforms of the Haihan militia are different from the Haihan militia. There are badges representing military ranks on the collar and chest, but the Lijiazhuang militia only has a white Li family emblem sewn on the chest.

Li Nai has already married and has his own house in Lijiazhuang.After the Li family cooperated with Haihan, Li Nai, as a fanatical lover of Haihan culture, renovated his house according to the style of the Guangzhou Office. The boiler room, bathroom equipment, and sewage system were all copied from Haihan. Han style, all made to order in Sanya.If the cost of shipping and installation and construction are included, the value of his house is much more expensive than the villa he bought in Sanya.

Many wealthy households in the entire Pearl River Delta have more or less installed all kinds of living facilities produced by Haihan in their homes, but it is still extremely rare to completely renovate their residences like Li Nai. The cost is one aspect, and the other is On the one hand, it is also because many things that need to be customized cannot be solved with money.If it is not for maintaining a close relationship with Haihan up and down, it is difficult for the production workshop to assign personnel to make these customized small batches or even individual products.

And in the eyes of outsiders, these special custom-made products are really amazing.After entering the courtyard, I saw the concrete path in the courtyard. Yan Mingjun had seen it when he was in Luodingzhou, but when he went to the study, he saw a pair of wooden framed glass windows inlaid with one-foot-square plate glass. The floor-to-ceiling inlay The glass door, he was indeed frightened.After entering the room, and seeing all kinds of Haihan glass stationery on the desk, Yan Mingjun's eyes were firmly attracted.

The glass stationery launched by Haihan people, of course, he also has a few collections.Of course, he didn't buy it out of his own pocket. Naturally, someone would send these popular objects in the current cultural circle as gifts.Yan Mingjun is also very fond of this crystal-clear Four Treasures of the Study, and has thought about collecting it for a long time. However, after he inquired about the price of the advanced version of Haihan glass stationery, he had no choice but to give up this plan—the advanced customized version is often It's just a few hundred taels of silver, and his yearly income will be gone if he buys two or three sets at most, and he really can't afford it.

However, these collections in the study at Li Nai's home really opened Yan Mingjun's eyes.Although he couldn't afford the real thing, he had seen the illustrated book, and almost all the special editions that were released in limited quantities could be found in this study.

"Brother Jungu also likes these Haihan glass stationery?" Li Nai saw that Yan Mingjun's eyes lit up after he entered the study, so he naturally knew what he cared about, so he asked immediately.

Yan Mingjun sighed: "Brother Chuan Rong, although I have a preference for this, but money is tight, so I can only buy some cheap ones for collection. Like the high-end suits of Brother Chuan Rong, I can't afford it. .”

Li Nai said with a smile: "It's okay, if brother Jun Gu likes which set, I will give it to Brother Jun Gu as a farewell gift."

"How can this be done!" Yan Mingjun hastily declined.

Li Nai waved his hand, indicating that there is no need to argue about this matter, and invited the two to sit down, and then asked the servants to pour tea and bring pastries.

"This glass stationery, I, Li Jin, a rough person, can't understand it, but the doors and windows of Mr. Li's study are unique, and the price is probably expensive, right?" Li Jin still paid attention to the doors and windows inlaid with plate glass. In fact, in his opinion, the practicality of this thing is much greater than those glass decorations.

"The price in the market is naturally very expensive." Li Nai nodded and replied, "However, after dealing with the Haihan people for several years, I still have a little friendship. The price they supply to me is naturally Much lower than the market price. Like these two sandalwood framed inlaid glass doors, it was estimated to be about 300 taels on the market, but it was won at about [-] taels of silver. After the two of you went to Qiongzhou Island, if you want to buy real estate , to buy these novelties from Haihan, you can entrust the local 'Furuifeng' firm to purchase them on your behalf, and the price will definitely be cheaper than buying them yourself from Haihan people."

Yan Mingjun smiled bitterly and said, "It costs a few hundred taels of silver to buy a door, and tens of thousands of taels to buy a courtyard?"

Li Nai said sternly: "I heard that both of you are going to Danzhou to take office. The housing prices in that place haven't risen yet. You should be able to buy a good courtyard with 3000 taels of silver. But in a year or two, the price will be lower." I’m catching up with Sanya, if you plan to buy real estate, you might as well do it as soon as you get there.”

"Sanya? Isn't that the old den of the Haihan people? Is the house sold very expensive?" Li Jin asked in confusion.

"The starting price of a courtyard with two entrances is 5000 taels, and it does not include any supporting facilities. If you want to buy everything, the price will almost double." Li Nai explained.

"It's so expensive!" Li Jin was so frightened that he almost jumped up from his chair: "You can't even sell yards at such a price in the city of Guangzhou. Sanya is located in such a remote place, but it can be sold at such a high price. Could it be that they are from Haihan?" Suspected of forced buying and selling?"

"Buy and sell by force?" Li Nai shook his head with a smile and said, "Now it's not a question of whether it's expensive or not, but a question of whether you can buy it or not. Even if you buy it with cash, you have to wait in line for Haihan Construction The real estate management office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has issued numbers for sale. At present, seven out of ten of the big businesses in Guangdong and Guangxi have bought real estate in Sanya, and they all bring their own money to buy real estate. There is no forced buying and selling. .”

"The local housing prices are so scary, why do businessmen still flock to them?" Yan Mingjun asked in puzzlement.

"It's very simple, for the convenience of doing business." Li Nai continued to explain: "The two ports in Sanya are now far more prosperous than the Pearl River Wharf in Guangzhou, comparable to a big port like Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. And almost all merchant ships going to Nanyang trade As a transit point, Sanya's business prosperity is something that the two of you can't even imagine now. Although it costs a lot to buy a house, but considering that there are all kinds of big businesses around, it is very convenient to do business. This money can be earned back within a year or two. Being able to afford the best housing in the local area is also a symbol of financial strength. For businessmen, buying real estate in Sanya is a very cost-effective investment.”

"Even if it's two or three thousand taels, I'm afraid I can't afford it!" Yan Mingjun shook his head helplessly.In order to seize the opportunity to be transferred to Qiongzhou Island, he spent almost all his savings on getting through various joints. Where there is money to buy real estate, most of the time he can only live in the yamen after he goes there.

"Brother Jungu, don't worry about this. If you want a house, the Haihan people will prepare it for you." Li Nai began to give Yan Mingjun and Li Jin the ecstasy: "Get a good courtyard in Danzhou City , to help you handle everything, and you can check in directly with your luggage.”

Yan Mingjun is not a fool, he naturally knows that there will be no pies falling in vain from the sky, so he immediately asked: "What conditions will the Haihan people have?"

"The conditions should be very simple. At most, you are asked to cooperate in the handling of local government and military affairs." Li Nai said lightly, "Brother Jun Gu, you can rest assured that you will never be asked to do anything embarrassing."

As for what constitutes embarrassment, turning a blind eye to local affairs, or betraying the Ming court, Li Nai did not explain.As long as these two people reach out and take the benefits that Hai Han sent, many things will no longer be up to them to decide.Of course, if possible, Li Nai hoped to persuade them to voluntarily work for Haihan.

"I'm not in a hurry. Let's go to Qiongzhou Island and take a look at the local environment before making a decision!" Yan Mingjun is not a young man, so he wouldn't be caught off guard by Li Nai's few words. There was no rush to make a statement at the moment.

At this time, the servants also brought hot tea and cakes, Li Nai changed the subject and talked with the two about his various experiences in Sanya.For people living in the environment of Daming, everything in Sanya is completely another world, and Yan Mingjun and Li Jin are no exception.What Li Nai talked about was completely novel to them. Giant iron boats that could float on the sea, heavy iron cars that could run like flying, and all kinds of unheard of new gadgets kept coming out of Li Nai’s mouth , Let them all be dumbfounded.

From time to time, the two would interrupt Li Nai's narration and ask questions about points of interest to them, and Li Nai answered them one by one patiently.However, there are also many problems that Li Nai himself doesn't quite understand, so he can only use excuses such as "Hai Han's secret art, not to be leaked".What he wanted to achieve was not to popularize the knowledge of Haihan to the two officials who were about to take office, but to arouse their curiosity. This was one of the strategies Ning Qi taught him at the beginning.

As long as outsiders become interested in the various miracles of Haihan, they are likely to be instilled with brainwashing consciousness in the process of contacting Haihan culture and business circles.After a long period of repeated brainwashing, it is difficult for even officials of the Ming Dynasty to maintain their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)