1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 915 The First Pot of Gold
Every time the Haihan militia completed overseas operations, it was the turn of the temporarily hired and requisitioned civilian ships to appear.A large number of materials and personnel need to be transported back to the Haihan control area in a short period of time. The navy ships alone are not enough, and in order to ensure that there will be no leaks beforehand, these civilian ships are often at the nearest port after the war call for.Because the Haihan military has always given good remuneration to the ships and personnel requisitioned during wartime, and it is billed by the day, so there will also be people with a keen sense of smell among the people, who will gather the ships under their names in the sea before the war begins. The ports near the theater are waiting for the navy to requisition them in order to obtain huge short-term profits.

With this idea in mind, Li Maozai, Liu Qiye, Qi Chuanjiang and others in Taipei's Jilong Port organized several lucky boats from Fuzhou before the war, and recruited some immigrants from the local area to transport them to Jilong. After arriving in Hong Kong, it just happened to catch up with the arrival of the fleet led by Wang Tom, and it was logical that it became the object of temporary requisition.However, Li Maozai and Qi Chuanjiang both have official positions in Jilong Port, and cannot participate in the operation of the fleet. Everything can only be handled by the maritime merchant Liu Qiye.

For Li Maozai and others who are in the system but have a heart for business, this is probably the best time for them to dig their first pot of gold.In the short few days of the fighting period, the fleet they organized ran back and forth between Jilong Port and Miyako Island twice. After the fighting ended, many personnel and materials on the island still needed their fleet to participate Three to four shipments will do.

Although the final fee has not been settled with the Haihan Shipping Department, both Liu Qiye and Qi Chuanjiang are related practitioners, and they are relatively clear about the remuneration standards for this kind of wartime requisition of civilian ships.According to their calculated income, the income that ran down during this period was distributed to each partner, and there could be as much as two to three thousand yuan.Judging by the current annual income levels of Qi Chuanjiang and Li Maozai, this is roughly equivalent to their income for five or six years.

Taking advantage of the time when Liu Qiye returned to Jilong Port to unload supplies, the three of them made an appointment to meet for dinner at a small restaurant in the port area to discuss the follow-up matters.However, due to a large number of hard labor and immigration to Hong Kong recently, Li Maozai was seconded by the Immigration Department to help with labor distribution in addition to his own official position in the Ministry of Construction. Both of them were busy doing maintenance and repairs on their warships.As a result, Liu Qiye waited in the small restaurant until after dark, and the two men finished work and rushed to the restaurant to meet him.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, you two have been waiting for a long time!" Li Maozai was the last person to arrive, and he apologized repeatedly before he sat down.

"Sit, sit, sit, you're so busy, you probably haven't had dinner yet?" Liu Qiye understood Li Maozai's situation very well, so he immediately called Xiaoer over and ordered some hot dishes.

"I can't help it. Seeing that it's time to get off work, a boatload of people has been pulled back from the pier. I can only help the cadres to count the personnel before withdrawing." Li Maozai sighed and said: "During the war, I worked overtime every day. If you come back late, you can't ask for a leave even if you want to, so please both of you have been waiting for a long time."

Liu Qiye said: "The big troops are still behind! There are at least two to three thousand people to be transported on Miyako Island. You have been very busy these days!"

Li Maozai said with a smile: "Be busy, everyone can earn money! Liu Qiye, how is Miyakojima now?"

"Zheng Zhilong has already surrendered, and basically all the leaders under him have followed suit. It is estimated that in a few days at most, the militia army will retreat." Liu Qiye sighed: "The Eighteen Zhi In the past few years, it was still in the limelight, and it was unrivaled in FJ, and it was destroyed so soon!"

Liu Qiye himself was one of the first batch of immigrants who moved from FJ to Taiwan with Shibazhi in his early years. The participants and the parties involved also felt more in their hearts than outsiders like Li Maozai and Qi Chuanjiang.

If it weren't for the arrival of the Haihan people, Liu Qiye would probably be a small official somewhere on the island of Taiwan, or manage a certain boat company for Shibazhi. The appointment of Ba Zhi, not the Ming government.After the arrival of the Haihan people, the development and construction process of the colonial site on Taiwan Island has indeed greatly exceeded the previous Shibazhi rule. It is precisely because Liu Qiye felt the huge energy possessed by Haihan that he decisively abandoned his original owner and turned to Haihan. Chinese.

Qi Chuanjian said: "Then Zheng Zhilong surrendered, can his life be saved?"

Liu Qiye looked around, lowered his voice and said, "I didn't see anyone, but it is said that the head of the king personally guarded the lives of Zheng Zhilong and his son. But this kind of important person must be sent by a navy warship. Escort, it’s not the turn of the civilian boat.”

"A big man like Zheng Zhilong must be escorted back to Sanya directly, and won't stay here at Jilonggang." Among the three, Li Maozai is the one who knows the operation of the Haihan system best. He explained to the other two: " The executive committee spent such a huge cost to send militia troops to Miyako Island to exterminate Shibazhi. Of course, it is necessary to see people and corpses. If Zheng Zhilong is caught, he must be sent back as soon as possible to report his military merits. Even if he wants to kill Head, then the heads of the Executive Committee have to confirm Zheng Zhilong's identity before doing anything."

"Then do you think the executive committee will kill him to avoid future troubles?" Liu Qiye had worked under Zheng Zhilong's hand, so he was more concerned about his fate.

Li Maozai shook his head and said: "I can't say it well. The ideas of the chiefs are all wild, and ordinary people like me can guess it. However, judging from the history of Haihan's foreign conquests in the past, as long as they surrendered, most of them They can save their lives. You must also know that many officers in the militia army were former generals from Daming, Annan, Dongying and other countries, maybe the chief thought that Zheng Zhilong was pleasing, so he rewarded him with an errand."

Qi Chuanjiang pondered: "Then, maybe we will become colleagues with him in the future?"

Li Maozai said: "The chiefs are broad-minded. They usually save the lives of the enemy generals who surrender, and sometimes even release them directly. It is unlikely that Zheng Zhilong will let him go, but there is still a good chance of saving his life. As for the future Whether he will become a colleague...it's hard to say."

Li Maozai had been under the hands of the Haihan people for so many years, and spent more than half of his time dealing with the labor camps. Naturally, he had seen many such cases.In his opinion, among the captives of Shibazhi, most of them still have a chance to start over, because Haihan is expanding extremely fast, and there has always been a huge gap in the demand for crew and sailors.Most of the people under Shibazhi's hands live at sea, and they are familiar with navigation skills, which can save a lot of training time.

Except for a very small number of heinous criminals, most of these people just obey the orders of the leaders above, and have no unforgivable sins themselves. After a period of hard labor, they will naturally change their minds and dispositions.Haihan people value more whether the prisoners of war will change their positions to serve themselves, rather than their past experience.Li Maozai has personally experienced this transformation process, and he also feels deeply about it.But what he doesn't know is that Haihan's senior management has a deep-rooted view of Zheng Zhilong, and has decided how to deal with him as early as the beginning of the time travel, and it will not change because he surrenders or not.

Liu Qiye said: "The war on Miyako Island is over, and we will probably finish this job soon. When the money is sent, do you want negotiable notes or bank notes issued by Haihan Bank?"

Li Maozai said: "I have this money in my hand, whether it is a negotiable certificate or a bank note, it is a dead money after all. At most, I can take it back to Sanya to buy two properties and use it as an apartment. I will calculate it with Qi Chuanjiang After that, it's better to pool the money together, find a business to start a business, and make money with money."

Liu Qiye smiled and said: "It makes sense, then do you have a way to think about it? If it is feasible, the old man will continue to contribute a share of the capital, how about cooperating with you?"

Liu Qiye wasn't worried that it would appear too abrupt for him to ask this question. The cooperation between the three of them was very pleasant this time, and the trust between them had also been deepened through this cooperation.There are not many people in Jilonggang who are familiar with Haihan policy like Li Maozai, and his partner can reduce the possibility of violating regulations and making mistakes in the operation. Liu Qiye is also willing to continue the current cooperative relationship.If Li Maozai and Qi Chuanjiang really have scruples about this, they can tactfully reject themselves by simply saying that they haven't considered a business project.

Li Maozai glanced at Shipwright Qi, saw him nodding his head slightly, and said to Liu Qiye: "The result of the discussion between the two of us is to open a shipyard. If Liu Qiye is willing to join, then it is naturally the best but."

Liu Qiye was slightly surprised, but he didn't expect these two people to be so thoughtful that they wanted to do such a "big business", so he persuaded him immediately: "The old man also knows that Shipbuilder Qi has this skill, but the shipyard is not a few It can be done with a thousand yuan. When Zheng Zhilong built the shipyard in Yaogang, he spent tens of thousands of taels of silver. , you should know that this is not easy.”

Qi Chuanjiang nodded and said: "If the standard of the official shipyard of the Ministry of Shipping is used, the investment will be greater than what Qi Ye said. But we don't need to build that kind of big ship, and we don't need to build a large dock. That’s enough for a dollar investment.”

Liu Qiye said: "If you don't build a big ship? What kind of ship will you build?"

Shipbuilder Qi explained: "Nowadays there are too few government-run shipyards, and the orders are full from the beginning to the end of the year. Half of the shipyards are used to build warships for the Navy, and the other half are used to build cargo ships for the Ministry of Shipping. There is not much time for civilian shipbuilding. But in terms of quantity, the demand for private boats is greater. For example, in Jilong Port, there are natural fishing grounds in the nearby waters, but there are very few local fishing boats, and most of them are small sampans, which cannot be reached at all. Fishing in a relatively distant place. I talked with the technicians sent by the Ministry of Agriculture to Jilong Port a few days ago, and the government will definitely support the development of the local fishery in the next few years, and building fishing boats will definitely be a good job.”

Liu Qiye still has doubts about this: "I don't know two things. First, whether the government allows private shipyards. Second, if you are a shipbuilder, can this shipyard be opened?"

"I've already inquired about opening the shipyard, no problem." Shipbuilder Qi replied confidently: "The government-run shipyard is too busy, so we can't keep buying ships from Daming, and we have to build them ourselves after all. It is said that Han Bank also has special support measures for this, and will provide low-interest loans to newly opened private shipyards. In addition, personnel is not a big problem. We are only building fishing boats, which is not difficult technically. The few apprentices I brought also If you can start working, just hire a group of laborers.”

At any rate, Liu Qiye was a man of a certain age, so he didn't let go of his doubts after hearing these few sentences, and continued to ask: "Do you have any familiarity with related industries? For example, where does the timber for shipbuilding come from?"

Li Maozai took over and said, "So we plan to open a wood processing factory in addition to opening a shipyard to provide raw materials for the shipyard."

"You guys are quite thoughtful..." Liu Qiye seems to be unable to find any loopholes now. Funds, personnel, projects, and policies are all there, and it seems that it is indeed a workable project: "In addition to paying , what else can the old man do?"

"Qiye often travels between FJ and Jilonggang, so please Lao Qiye, and recruit more craftsmen from FJ such as boat builders, carpenters and other related industries." Li Maozai had already thought about this level, and immediately give suggestions.

"Then where is this shipyard going to be opened? Have you ever been optimistic about the place?" Liu Qiye is also a straightforward person who will do what he says. Since the conditions are ripe, he also feels that this project is feasible, so he immediately asked for details.

"It's on Sheliao Island." Li Maozai turned his chopsticks upside down, dipped the tip of the chopsticks in some wine, and drew out the general terrain of the port area on the table, explaining to Liu Qiye: "The southwest of Sheliao Island is a flat area. The beach, the Ministry of Shipping intends to plan it as a shipyard and warehouse. We only build fishing boats. The land required is not large. Thirty to forty acres will be enough in the initial stage. I plan to put the wood processing factory there , if you have spare capacity, you can also supply materials to the government-run shipyard."

"Okay!" Liu Qiye saw that they didn't talk about it verbally, but that they had already made plans for the relevant affairs, and now he was a little more sure about this transaction: "Then when the matter of Miyako Island is over, the old man will Go to FJ as soon as possible to search for skilled craftsmen, and try to get this done as soon as possible.”

"Thank you, Seventh Master!" Li Maozai immediately cupped his hands to express his gratitude.

Qi Chuanjiang filled the glasses in front of the three of them with wine, raised his glass and said, "Then I wish us a happy opening!"

After the three of them clinked glasses and drank it down, they immediately began to discuss other relevant details.Although one of the three is a former prisoner of war, a former subordinate of Shibazhi, and a civilian shipwright, all of them have no great background, but thanks to the rapid development period Haihan is currently in, they have brought them a Chances of taking off from flat ground.

(End of this chapter)