1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 693 Adjustment of Zhennan Port
During the same period, in the south of Hong Kong Island, Zhennan Port.

Chen Lin, a lumber merchant who had just returned from Chaozhou with his fleet, looked at the scene of panic on the shore with a dazed look on his face.Thousands of laborers are constantly loading various goods to the ships docked at the dock, and there are a bunch of sailboats like him that are blocked outside and unable to dock outside the port.Chen Lin has been in and out of Zhennan Port at least twenty or thirty times, and this is the first time he has seen this place so crowded. Given the size of Zhennan Port, this is obviously not a normal phenomenon.

Usually, there are no more than [-] ships entering and leaving Zhennan Port every day, and there are only about [-] ships in peak seasons. But in front of him, there are only ships blocked outside the port. Chen Lin roughly counted them, and there are at least forty or fifty ships, large and small. many.For such a scene, Chen Lin can only think of two possibilities for the time being. Either a gold mine was discovered in Zhennan Port, which led to the flock of profit seekers, or there was a plague in this place, making everyone plan to flee.

Chen Lin waited for a long while, feeling a little impatient, so he let the boat down and rowed to Ap Lei Chau, which is across the river from Zhennan Port.The port defenses of Zhennan Port are basically built on the hills of Ap Lei Chau. The Haihan Militia has deployed more than [-] soldiers, including an artillery company, and a "majestic class" warship. Temporary supply dock.Of course, there are no "majestic-class" main warships deployed here, only two "exploration-class" warships are used for daily surface patrols.

Because Chen Lin often traveled to Zhennan Port, he had several contacts with Chen Yixin, a senior Haihan officer who was stationed here, and they quickly became friends because of the same surname.Every time Chen Lin came to Nangang Township, he never forgot to bring some local specialties as a tribute. After a long time, many militia soldiers stationed here recognized him, so when the boat he took arrived at the shore of Ap Lei Chau, there were While helping to catch the cables thrown from the boat, the soldiers greeted loudly: "Boss Chen is a rare visitor! It's been a long time since he showed up!"

Chen Lin clasped his fists and said: "I recently went to Chaozhou to deal with some matters. I just arrived at Zhennan Port today, and I came here to visit Chief Chen. There are still some live chickens and ducks on the boat that I didn't finish eating on the way. Let's give them to the military men on the island for a teeth-beating sacrifice." !"

"Then Boss Chen is here. The chief just came back from the north two days ago. You rest at the pier first, and then send someone to report to the chief!" Since Chen Lin didn't come empty-handed, naturally he would not be caught Sorry.The soldiers on the shore quickly set up the springboard and let Chen Lin go ashore, and then several soldiers went to the boat to carry the various condolences prepared for Chen Lin to the shore.

A while later, Chen Lin saw Chen Yixin in the barracks.

"You came just in time, I have something to see you." Chen Yixin gestured for him to sit down and talk.

Chen Lin sat on the chair with half of his buttocks, thanked the orderly for the tea, and then responded: "Is there anything you can do for the villain?"

"Do you have real estate in Zhennan Port?" Chen Yixin asked straight to the point.

Chen Lin didn't understand what he meant, but he said honestly: "The villain has a warehouse in the local area, covering an area of ​​about three acres. It is mainly used for storing wood. Usually when he comes here for business, he will also stay in the warehouse for a few days."

"A few days ago, you didn't go to the Sanya Autumn Fair, did you?" Chen Yixin nodded and talked about another seemingly unrelated matter.

"The villain was dealing with business in Chaozhou a few days ago, and he couldn't go to Sanya in time. I am very sorry!" Although Chen Lin said he was sorry, he didn't necessarily see it in his heart.

His main business is timber. Since he established a relationship with Haihan, his main suppliers are Hong Kong Island, Wanshan Island and Panyu.Although the Autumn Fair was lively, even if a timber merchant like Chen Lin went there, he really only had to watch the excitement.The supply of wood on Qiongzhou Island is basically self-sufficient. A few special woods that Haihan named to buy, such as iron wood used to process ship parts such as rudder stocks and bushings, are not produced in Chen Lin's reach. area.As for those large projects such as enclosing land and building farms, because of the huge investment, Chen Lin felt that he couldn't handle it.Therefore, even though he knew the news about the Sanya Autumn Fair, he was not in a hurry to go to Sanya to participate. By the time he returned from handling the business in Chaozhou, the Autumn Fair had already ended for several days.

"There are some new policies and decisions announced at the Autumn Fair. You have just come back, so you probably haven't heard of them yet." Chen Yixin said after deliberation: "One of the contents is the adjustment of the regional settings of Hong Kong Island. The general content is to put the The facilities are gradually concentrated in Yanchuan Bay in the north... Well, the area that has been renamed Causeway Bay now, and Zhennan Port in the south will gradually become mainly for military use. You know, military ports will not allow civilian ships to enter and dock. "

Chen Lin was stunned and said: "After that... the boat like the villain can't dock at Zhennan Port? What about the goods and warehouses of the villain here?"

Before Chen Yixin could answer, Chen Lin suddenly came to his senses: "It turns out that there are so many boats stuck at the wharf in Zhennan Port, and they are in a hurry to move goods and houses! Chief, half of the villain's net worth is here, you can save me!" "

"Don't panic, sit down first!" Chen Yixin had already expected the other party's reaction, and motioned him to calm down first.

"When businessmen like you bought land in Zhennan Port, they paid the money. You also know that Haihan has always followed the rules, so don't worry, your things and land will not be short at all. We will set aside time for you to ship the goods out, and we will give you a reasonable compensation for the land in Causeway Bay in the north." Chen Yixin explained: "The conditions in the north are better than Zhennan Port, and I believe it will be good for you to do business in the future. "

"The villain spent a lot of money to build a warehouse here..." Chen Lin said halfway, his voice became quieter, thinking that the government expropriated the land, so it doesn't matter how much money you spent on building the house, it would be good if you could compensate for the land .

"The money for building the house cannot be returned to you." Chen Yixin changed his tone and said, "But we will compensate some more land in Causeway Bay in exchange. You have three acres of land here, and you can get four or five acres of land in Causeway Bay to the north. As for how much, it depends on the specific location.”

"Ah? Thank you, Chief!" Chen Lin hurriedly responded, "The villain hastened to clean up the warehouse... No, I should go to the north to select the land first..."

"Don't worry, you have two months to take care of this matter slowly." Chen Yixin said unhurriedly: "The land in Causeway Bay is also reserved for you. If you pile up more goods in Zhennan Port, We can also arrange for a ship to transport you there.”

Only then did Chen Lin realize that Chen Yixin seemed to have something to say, and quickly responded, "I don't know what arrangements the chief has?"

"You have five or six cargo ships under your control?" Chen Yixin asked.

"There are six ships in total, and they are all waiting for the pier to be vacated outside the port. All the ships are loaded with timber brought back from Chaozhou this time." Chen Lin replied honestly: "But if Zhennan Port can't unload, the villain still needs to Just find another port."

"You don't need to look for another one. Let your ship dock here later and unload the cargo here." Chen Yixin said in a deep voice, "After your six ships are free, go to Sanya first and transport some for us." Things, the cost will be calculated to you according to the market price."

Chen Lin didn't realize it for a while, and still looked blank: "Shipping things? To Sanya?"

"Is there any problem?" Chen Yixin asked with a frown.

"Ah? Ah...No! No problem! It's a great honor for the villain to serve the chief!" Chen Lin came back to his senses, and hurriedly replied: "I don't know when the chief will arrange to leave? But I need the villain to prepare some What? Is there anything contraindicated in the shipment?"

"I will arrange people to help you unload the fleet. After unloading, you can rest in Zhennan Port for a day, replenish supplies, and then go south! I will arrange people to board the ship to lead the navigation, and specifically where to dock to load the cargo. My people will guide you." Chen Yixin slowly explained: "As for the cargo to be shipped, you don't need to know... If your crew asks, just say go to Sanya to transport smuggled salt. Ship the things back from Sanya After that, you can pay the job. I will give you a Haihan Bank bank note, and you can exchange it for cash yourself."

"That's it?" Chen Lin confirmed again.

"It's that simple." Chen Yixin nodded and said, "I promise you won't have any trouble."

The situation encountered by Chen Lin is not an isolated case. The executive committee has recently made a decision to focus on Fujian for the next step in its strategy, so all resource allocation must also be changed for this major strategic direction. For example, Zhennan Port was originally There must be new changes in the planning.

When Zhennan Port was initially planned, most of it was still used for civilian purposes, and only Ap Lei Chau was used as a military-controlled area. For this reason, the Ministry of Commerce and the Guangxi Office in the early stage of development also organized special investment promotion activities to let merchants invest in Zhennan Port to build freight yards. Stacks and other facilities.However, with the determination of the plan to enter Fujian, the Executive Committee decided to adjust the function settings of Zhennan Port, designate the entire Zhennan Port as a military base, and relocate all the civilian facilities here to the north of Hong Kong Island——near the Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter The port has completed the first phase of engineering construction and can be put into daily operation.

The reason why the executive committee made such an adjustment is because it has already won the control of the entire Hong Kong Island, and the large coastal plain in the north of Hong Kong Island is obviously more valuable for development than the narrow and limited area of ​​Zhennan Port.Second, the Zhennangang area is designated as a military base, also to serve the strategic development needs for a period of time to come.

If Haihan wants to attack Penghu on a large scale, it is bound to send a considerable number of fleets to Fujian.But if this action is too early, it will inevitably arouse Shibazhi's vigilance in advance, thus giving them more time to react.The plan formulated by the Military Commission is to concentrate the fleet at the mouth of the Pearl River first, and arrange several exercises if possible.Wait until before the operation begins, and then set off to Fujian to implement the combat plan.

Haihan already has several strongholds in the Pearl River Estuary, but currently there is no suitable place for large troops to station.The location of Panyu is too close to Guangzhou. If the Haihan fleet goes up the Pearl River in a large scale, it will inevitably cause misjudgment by the Guangdong government, which will cause unnecessary consequences.However, the port of Wanshan Island is too small, and the number and tonnage of ships it can accommodate are very limited, so it is not suitable for use as a military port.Only on the Hong Kong Island side can Zhennan Port located in the southwest corner be set aside and handed over to the military for use.

Because of the natural terrain of Hong Kong Island, Zhennan Port is completely isolated from the coastal plain in the north, which can also ensure the confidentiality of the military base here to the greatest extent.As long as the waterways at both ends of Ap Lei Chau are blocked, the outside world will not be able to detect how many ships are docked in the middle section of the strait.Zhennan Port is indeed an excellent choice for the military who want to keep the deployment of troops secret before the war.

To turn this place into a military base, of course, there is another necessary prerequisite, that is, to remove all civilian facilities.Therefore, taking advantage of the gathering of businessmen at the Autumn Fair, the executive committee announced the decision to relocate Zhennan Port as a whole. All businesses with fixed assets in Zhennan Port will move out of this place within a time limit and move to the new development zone in the north of Hong Kong Island. Get the corresponding compensation.

As for Chen Lin's ship being requisitioned by Chen Yixin, this is also an arrangement by the military. A well-informed maritime merchant like Chen Lin is asked to send ships and people to Sanya Tielu Port to transport war supplies, in order to cover up Haihan's past as much as possible. Pre-war preparations in progress.

Naturally, Chen Yixin would not tell Chen Linyun what the goods were, and Chen Lin was very interested in not inquiring further about the information—since the other party didn't say anything, it was naturally an inconvenient military situation, so he had better try not to get into trouble.Since Chen Yixin had already said that he would pay the corresponding freight, he probably wouldn't renege on his debt, at least he didn't need to pay for the trip himself.Anyway, it only takes more than ten days to run back and forth, and it won't have a big impact on his business. Chen Lin feels relieved after thinking about it.

Chen Yixin arranged hundreds of soldiers to unload Chen Lin's fleet at the pier.With so many hundreds of strong laborers, the six shipments of timber from Chaozhou this time were unloaded the next day.After resting for another day, Chen Lin and his fleet left Zhennan Port and headed south.Chen Yixin specially transferred several people from the navy to go south with Chen Lin to take on the role of pilot.

Situations like this not only occurred in Zhennan Port, but also in neighboring Wanshan Island, Lijiazhuang in Panyu, the Pearl River Wharf outside Guangzhou, and Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng Ports on Hainan Island. The carrier took over the shipping business.These merchant ships belonging to different ship owners will go to Sanya in batches in the next one or two months, and transport the war supplies prepared by the military to Zhennan Port.At the same time, Fujian will also send ships to transport these materials to Kinmen Island.Even if Shibazhi arranged for a spy in Guangdong, it would be difficult to detect these methods Hai Han secretly adopted.

(End of this chapter)