1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 589
Hong Kong Island covers an area of ​​nearly [-] square kilometers. Although most of the areas are mountainous areas that are difficult to develop at this stage, its location guards the Pearl River Estuary. trade relations.Taking Hong Kong Island as a base, it can radiate the two provinces of Fuzhou and Guangxi in advance, and defend the fortress on the island in retreat. For Haihan, it is indeed an excellent base for advancement.

Although the island looks small, in fact, there is still a large area of ​​gentle terrain for development in the area where the north of the island is only separated from the mainland by a narrow waterway. From the later generations of Causeway Bay all the way west to Central, Sheung Wan, and Western Ring, Such a large area can accommodate at least tens of thousands of people.In the executive committee's plan for Hong Kong Island, there will be no large-scale production units in this place. In terms of civil affairs, it will mainly undertake the tasks of sea trade freight and immigration transfer, and will not resettle a large number of people on the spot. Therefore, the island's The area of ​​the developable area should be sufficient for at least ten or twenty years in the future.And when that time came, it was obviously impossible for Hai Han to be troubled by such a small amount of land anymore.

Of course, regarding the source of development funds for Hong Kong Island, corresponding arrangements have been made in advance.Since the development of Zhennan Port the year before last, the Daming Investment Group, which is dominated by many wealthy businessmen from Guangdong, has been on the "thief ship" of Haihan. I have been asking when Haihan will move north, and the silver in his pocket has already given birth to his feet and is about to jump out.

To be honest, the investment enthusiasm of the businessmen of the Ming Dynasty was far beyond the expectations of the executive committee. Even if the behavior of taking the land of the Ming Dynasty as their own was not openly resisted by the people of the Ming Dynasty, it is estimated that it would be difficult to get too much money. Support, but soon the traversers discovered that even in this era, the weight of interests greatly surpassed etiquette. In the face of white money, morality and other things have long been left behind.

After the annual general meeting in April, the Haihan Ministry of Commerce announced the investment promotion plan for Hong Kong Island.Of course, this kind of so-called foreign affairs is actually relatively targeted. It’s not like posting a notice at the door like Anmin’s notice, and it’s done. hands of these merchants.

This approach is a bit similar to email marketing. Of course, Haihan is more fully prepared. It not only pushes investment promotion content in a targeted manner for customers' business projects, but also prepares various small receptions, poetry parties, and tea parties. , and the people from the Ministry of Commerce will explain the details to the customers face to face.Big merchants and senior partners like "Furuifeng" even have commissioners from the Ministry of Commerce visit their homes to explain the general situation of this investment promotion, and by the way, understand how the merchants feel about this arrangement.

The information feedback received by the Ministry of Commerce is undoubtedly gratifying. The vast majority of Ming businessmen believe that as long as the imperial court does not explicitly prohibit it by law, then why not do business that can make money with the Haihan people?
Of course, not all cats and dogs are qualified to participate in Haihan’s development plan for Hong Kong Island. Those who can get news are basically merchants who have relatively close business relations with Haihan. New players who want to join this game, except In addition to being recommended by reliable old players, a certain amount of credit deposit must be deposited in Haihan Bank.

Chen Lin, a timber merchant in Guangdong, got the news more than ten days later than others. It wasn't that he didn't have the corresponding qualifications, but that he went to Fujian to do business in March and returned to Guangdong recently.At this time, the registration of the first batch of investor qualifications by the Ministry of Commerce was over. As soon as Chen Lin came back from Fujian and heard the news, he rushed to Zhennan Port non-stop to visit the senior management of Haihan who was in charge locally.

On the day Chen Yixin took over the Xin'an water village in Shau Kei Wan, Chen Lin came to the Zhennan Port Management Committee, handed over the name card according to the rules, registered his identity, and waited in the gatehouse for summons.Today's Zhennan Port is basically on the right track, and all aspects are operating in accordance with the standard Haihan Port management system. Merchants only need to go to the corresponding department to handle the daily loading and unloading procedures of inbound and outbound cargo, and only a few have other important matters. Only merchants in the market will send a special post asking to see Haihan officials.

The location of the management committee is a traditional-style house with three courtyards. It used to be the residence of the only big landowner in the area. However, after the Haihan people arrived here, they bought this house and used it as the residence of the management committee.The first time you enter the courtyard is the place to handle various daily affairs, but the people who work here are basically naturalized personnel.The second entrance courtyard is the exclusive office space for Haihan people. Outsiders must first apply for registration before entering.The last courtyard I entered was the residence of several local Haihan officials, which is a place that ordinary people can't go to.

Chen Lin waited for about half an hour before a staff member came to invite him in.After entering the wing room with the sign "Director's Office of the Management Committee", Chen Lin bowed deeply and said, "Chen Lin, the villain, I have met Director You!"

"Boss Chen is an acquaintance. You don't need to be so polite!" The current supervisor of Zhennan Port is You Yihan. Because the local development process was relatively smooth, You Yihan stayed as the local supervisor because of his meritorious service in directing.

Although Zhennangang is not a big place and its resident population is limited, it seems that being a leader here is not as good as in other states and counties, but only those who live here know that Zhennangang is small, but the living conditions are not bad.First of all, all kinds of necessary living facilities, such as bathroom equipment, solar power generation devices, communication and contact systems, etc., are also fully equipped here according to the standards of the base camp.Secondly, although there are not many high-end dining places in this place, there are constant merchant ships traveling from south to north, and the convenience of obtaining ingredients is much better than that of Hainan Island. I have been a leader here for more than a year, and my weight has increased a lot compared to when I was in Guangzhou.

The most important thing is that there are a lot of migrants here, and no matter if they are big bosses or ordinary sailors, they are almost all people with spare money on hand, and their spending power is far better than that of ordinary fishing port towns. You can find them all. There are several brothels in the town that have been licensed by Haihan, and they regularly send some fresh goods from Guangzhou and other places. I will also visit to meet my physical needs.

Of course, in front of the ambitious traveler, the quality of living conditions is still a secondary issue, and the prospect of future career is what every expatriate really cares about.You Yihan sees his situation very clearly. Although Zhennan Port is a small place, its role cannot be replaced by Lijiazhuang and Wanshan Port, which are both at the mouth of the Pearl River.Moreover, after Hong Kong Island is taken, as Haihan's influence continues to expand northward, the local maritime trade volume is estimated to increase several times. When the Executive Committee decides who will manage and operate this port area, in Guangdong You Yihan, who has been working for several years and knows the local conditions thoroughly, undoubtedly has a great advantage.

But before that, You Yihan also had to deal with the work at hand, especially the business operation of the Haihan Department of Commerce in the northern part of Hong Kong Island. As the local supervisor, he was also responsible.

Chen Lin is indeed not a new face to You Yihan, after all, the two sides have dealt with each other eight times if not ten times in the past two years.The first time the two met, it dates back to when Zhennan Port had just started operating. Chen Lin, as a lobbyist sent by Xin'an Water Village, tried to persuade Haihan to give up stationing armed personnel and ships on the island.However, when Chen Yixin came forward to express his opinion, he did not show any face to the Ming army, and directly gave several harsh conditions, limiting the range of activities of the navy to the north of Hong Kong Island, and not allowing them to interfere in Haihan's affairs.

However, after that experience, Chen Lin also realized the gap in strength between the two sides, and it happened that Haihan's large-scale construction also needed a lot of timber. Chen Lin seized this opportunity and started a timber business with Haihan. After one or two years of doing it, I made a lot of money, and even invested money to rent a piece of land in Zhennan Port, and built a warehouse to store the goods transshipped here.

After doing business with the Haihan people for a long time, Chen Lin naturally gradually realized how terrifying the strength of this group of people is.What Haihan owns is not just the guns, artillery and warships that are exposed to the outside. Chen Lin believes that their pervasive business system is also powerful. At least in these counties under the rule of Guangzhou, no county magistrate dares to seize them in their own places. Hai Han's goods.This is not because they are afraid of revenge from the Haihan people, but the owners of these goods are often inextricably linked with the government, and in some places, officials are directly behind the scenes to make money.

Like Panyu County where Lijiazhuang is located, Haihan people can almost walk sideways in the local area. Six out of ten local people are working for Haihan people-this number even includes most of the people who eat public meals in Panyu County .Compared with those terrifying weapons, Chen Lin thinks that silver is the most irresistible attack in Hai Han's hands.Of course, Chen Lin himself was one of them, otherwise he wouldn't have rushed over from other places in a hurry.

"Director You, the villain came to bother you today. I really want to ask for something!" Chen Lin's attitude was still very correct. Although You Yihan greeted him very warmly, he was very clear about his role and had no intention of taking it seriously. Put yourself on an equal footing with the other person.

"Oh? What's the matter?" You Yihan asked casually.

"I heard that the investment registration for the development of the northern part of Hong Kong Island has been going on for several days. I wonder if it is true?" Chen Lin hurriedly asked the question he was concerned about.

You Yihan nodded and replied: "That's right, the executive committee announced the news about 20 days ago, and the response was very enthusiastic. As far as I know, more than [-] merchants have registered. By the way, the Ministry of Commerce should have given Boss Chen sent the materials over, right?"

"I sent it, but the villain was in Fujian at the time, so I couldn't receive it!" Chen Lin said anxiously: "The villain rushed back immediately after getting the news, but it is said that the registration has expired, what should I do? "

"So it's about this..." You Yihan said, "So Boss Chen also plans to invest money in the north?"

"Of course there is!" Chen Lin quickly responded: "If it weren't for the fact that there is no open space with a better location here in Zhennan Port, the villain originally wanted to build a larger timber warehouse here. Now that you are going to start building The land in the north is encircled for development, and the villain naturally wants to get a piece of land as soon as possible."

"Originally, this matter was led by the Ministry of Commerce. I, the director of the management committee, can't interfere..." Seeing Chen Lin's face turned ugly, You Yihan coughed dryly and turned the conversation back: "But Boss Chen is also our long-term cooperation partner." Partner, we will not forget our partner if there is a good thing. I can see that we can do something special for this matter. I will write you a note, and you can take it to the office of the Ministry of Commerce, and ask their people to register for you first. The formalities have been completed. As for the location selection arrangement, I will notify you in a few days."

Chen Lin was overjoyed, and quickly stood up to thank him, "Thank you Director You for taking care of me!" As he spoke, he took out a cowhide envelope from his sleeve and handed it to You Yihan's desk.

You Yihan almost laughed out loud: "Boss Chen, put it away, what use do I have with this Haihan Bank bank note? It was originally issued by us."

Chen Lin smiled embarrassingly, took back the bank note, and apologized repeatedly: "It's the villain who didn't think carefully. Don't blame Director You. The villain just wants to express his gratitude."

You Yihan said: "It's just a matter of little effort, don't pay too much attention to it. By the way, I would like to ask, since Boss Chen just came back from Fujian, how is the current situation in Fujian?"

Chen Lin didn't understand what he meant for a while, and asked instead: "The situation Director You mentioned refers to..."

"I heard that the pirates in Fujian have been tossing a lot in the past two years. How are you doing recently?" You Yihan had to ask more clearly.

Chen Lin suddenly realized: "Director You is talking about Shibazhi's group?"

"That's right, I just wanted to know if they are still harassing the coast of Fujian." You Yihan nodded.

Chen Lin replied: "A few years ago, this group of people was really tossing a lot, but after Liu Xiang and his group were beaten away from the Pearl River Estuary by your militia army two years ago, Shibazhi's movements became much quieter. But the current Fujian President Mr. Bing Xu led the troops to fight and win victories. It is said that Shibazhi has retreated to Penghu in the past year and dare not attack the coastal areas of Fujian easily. The villain went to Fujian this time to do business, and he came and went very smoothly, and he did not encounter pirates. .”

"Master Xu drove Shibazhi to Penghu, so he didn't take the initiative to attack again?" You Yihan asked.

"No, I heard that the two parties have already negotiated a peace..." Chen Lin continued, not realizing the change in You Yihan's face.

(End of this chapter)