1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 998 Preparations
The annual cost Haihan spends on buying and attracting Ming officials is definitely an astronomical figure for ordinary people, and the executive committee has always been relatively loose in this aspect of budget expenditure, so He Xi is also very generous, hoping to be able to Take down the new Dongchang eunuch in one fell swoop.

But Huo Yue, the chief eunuch from the capital, didn't know whether he was playing tricks on purpose or because he really disdained to contact Hai Han, and returned all the money and gifts that He Xi had sent over.After thinking about it, He Xi felt that it might be because the other party was born in the capital and had a bigger appetite than his predecessor from Nanjing, so he sent an extra copy.He Xi thought that this gift was enough, at least [-]% more than what his predecessor received, but in the end it was returned silently by the other party.

Not only that, the head of the Dongchang stall who was in charge of delivering gifts in the middle was also reprimanded by the new boss, telling him not to be troublesome.After He Xi heard the news, he knew that the other party might be at odds with Hai Han, so he spent some time inquiring about the news, and finally found out the reason - when Hai Han attacked Liuheng Island in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province last year , Huo Yue's godson died in the casino of the Haisha Gang.

It is worth mentioning that Huo Yue's godson is also from Dongchang, but his service location is far away in Ningbo.He was not against the Haihan people, but he happened to be having fun in the Haisha gang's casino at the right time, but he was so unlucky to meet Haihan's raid on Liuheng Island, and he was unlucky to die in random gunshots.Haihan's side later found out his identity, and naturally pushed the boat to blame the Haisha gang. The local government in Ningbo took a lot of benefits from Haihan, so they helped to determine the nature of the matter.But after the news was sent back to the capital, Huo Yue didn't believe this theory at all, and he put the account on Haihan's head in grief and indignation—the Haisha gang had been completely destroyed, and this bad luck was in his heart, so he had to Just find a punching bag.

I don't know if it was a coincidence or the result of Huo Yue's own activities, he was actually sent to a distant Guangdong to take up a post, and had the opportunity to confront Hai Han head-on.Huo Yue thinks that he is in a privileged department like Dongchang, and there is no need to sell Haihan people's face at all. Although the gifts sent by He Xi are expensive, Huo Yue was born in the capital and has seen some worldly experience, so naturally he would not He was easily bribed, but he used this to give the Haihan people a hard time.

He Xi found out what was going on, and combined with the other party's performance, he could of course feel Huo Yue's unfriendly attitude.Since I haven't figured out the details of Huo Yue's background for the time being, I can't take more radical actions rashly. I can only call the people who were originally in Zhaoqing for a meeting and deploy stricter monitoring measures to prevent Huo Yue from taking office. After that, he made some moves that were not good for Haihan.This way, He Xi's return to Sanya was delayed by a week, so most of the previous security work in Sanya was directed by Hao Wanqing.

"So dishonest? Then what are you going to do?" After listening to He Xi's description, Hao Wanqing was not too nervous. In the past few years, the Ministry of Security has secretly solved many troublesome people. Not much difference.

He Xi smiled and said: "Of course it's best to use money to solve it, but if this guy continues to be stubborn and makes me lose patience, then I have to ask the special service team to go to Zhaoqing. But this matter can be put aside for now. Observe for a while, and talk about it after the celebration."

For those Ming officials who are unwilling to accept benefits and compromise with Haihan, the Ministry of Security will evaluate the trouble they may cause Haihan, and if they think that their danger reaches a certain level, they will try to get them out of office. Then push those who are willing to cooperate to take charge.As for those who have already caused troubles and losses to Hai Han, the measures the Ministry of Security will take include but are not limited to the degree of loss of office.He Xi's special service team will carry out several special tasks such as assassination and kidnapping every year. The main targets of such tasks are Ming officials who are against Hai Han.

Although this method is radical and has certain risks, the effect is equally significant. When the officials who opposed Haihan lost their official positions one by one, or even disappeared or died for no reason, people with a normal mind would realize the opposition to Haihan. The stakes involved in taking a position are enormous.On the one hand, they will lose their official positions or even their lives, and on the other hand, they will receive benefits and spend their term smoothly. Most people will still choose a relatively safe path.

Of course, during this period, it was not without the idea that officials mobilized troops to arrest Haihan people in Guangdong and Guangxi, but rumors often leaked before they were implemented, and the consequences were naturally very miserable.Over time, officials of all sizes, including the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, have learned the correct posture to deal with Hai Han—accept the benefits, and then provide Hai Han with convenience as much as possible.Haihan people value profits but keep their promises. As long as a cooperative relationship is reached, there will not be too many things that deliberately embarrass local officials. Bian could give more in return to thank the Ming officials for their concessions.

He Xi and Hao Wanqing are both experts, so there is no need to explain to each other in detail how to achieve these goals.Although the new head of the East Factory in Zhaoqing Prefecture may cause some troubles for the security department, compared to the upcoming founding ceremony in Sanya, these small matters can be put aside and dealt with slowly.

Returning back was delayed by a week because of the Zhaoqing incident, He Xi had a backlog of things to deal with, and he didn't even have time to go back to his residence to rest. There was still a joint working meeting with the police and military waiting for him to attend.The horse-drawn carriage they took quickly passed the Victory Harbor Landscape Avenue and went directly to Fort Victory.

At the same time, Tao Donglai was inspecting the preparations for the celebration venue at the mouth of the Tiandu River.The setting of the venue this time is different from previous years. Instead of placing the main venue on the square outside the gate of Fort Victory, it moved south to the No. [-] Wharf of Victory Port, which has rarely been used in Haihan in the past few years.

Pier No. [-] is located in the deepest part of Victory Port, and the ships it docked are the ships that brought the travelers to this time and space, among which the huge New World is the most important.A few years ago, Haihan also held a commendation ceremony on the deck of the New World, but under the advice of the Ministry of Shipping, these ships have all been sealed up. In addition to regular maintenance by technicians, only There are no more idlers waiting to board the ship.

For every outsider who sets foot on the land of Victory Port for the first time, their attention will inevitably be attracted by the tall and majestic hull of the New World anchored in the depths of the port area, where they can witness the legend with their own eyes. The "Haihan Iron Ship" in the movie can be regarded as a major event that changed their worldview for these people.Many people have established the concept of "Haihan is omnipotent" in their minds, and it only came out when they saw the Shinsekai.

The venue for the founding ceremony of Haihan this time relied on the pier where the New World was docked to build a two-story high and 30-meter-wide large rostrum.At that time, not only the executive committee and the leaders of various departments will be on stage, but also some invited guests will also be on stage to watch the ceremony.Under the stage is the road that the phalanx will pass through. This 15-meter-wide passage is parallel to the rostrum. On the other side is the crowd viewing area that is more than one mile long, leading to the port area in the south. It is expected to accommodate at least 3 people.

During this celebration, in addition to the large number of foreigners who have recently poured into Sanya, there are also quite a few naturalized citizens who already have Haihan household registration from other counties on Hainan Island, and even from Guangdong, Fujian, Annan and other places. This is hilarious.According to the estimates of relevant departments, at least five to seven thousand naturalized people will flood into Sanya from other places during the celebration, and at least half of the tens of thousands of local residents will take to the streets to celebrate .Therefore, in the planning of the main venue of the ceremony, the public viewing area and the rostrum were specially separated by a road, and wooden stakes, bamboo fences, etc. were used to divide the viewing area into more than 20 small areas along the direction of the road. Military and police personnel guide the public to enter to avoid the stampede that is easy to occur when all the crowds are gathered together.

At present, the basic construction work of the rostrum has been completed, and the workers are installing several tweeters on the elevated scaffolding on both sides of the rostrum, so that the heads of state can speak during the celebration.These tweeters and related equipment were brought over during the time travel, but they were well maintained. After installing them, I tried the sound, and there was no problem at all.This kind of tweeter used to be used in village-to-village projects in rural areas. Although the price is cheap, the quality is very solid, and the sound is loud enough. As long as the speaker is set up a little higher and turned on to the maximum power, you can talk for miles around. Can hear clearly.

The person in charge of the supervision here is Liu Shanxia, ​​the second-in-command of the Ministry of Construction, but the task of building a platform like this is really not technical at all, so Liu Shanxia actually has nothing to do on this temporary construction site, and most of the work is not used at all. When he spoke, the group of foremen under him who had worked in the Ministry of Construction for several years would naturally make proper arrangements.Seeing Tao Dong coming, Liu Shanxia invited him to sit down at the tea table specially set up next to the construction site, and then ordered someone to make tea and serve snacks and refreshments.This place is about four or fifty meters away from the construction site, and there is a large sunshade umbrella, so there is no need to worry about too much dust from the construction site rushing here.

"You will enjoy it!" The two had known each other for many years before crossing, and Tao Donglai didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Shanxia's arrangement. After sitting down and drinking tea, he joked, "Send you over to supervise the work." , you seem to be on vacation!"

Liu Shanxia smiled nonchalantly: "Boss, as you have seen, this kind of work is not difficult. Why do I need to instruct them to do it? Before the sun goes down today, the work will be completed here, and the celebration will begin." There are still three or four days, and there will be no problem at all."

Tao Donglai pointed to the rostrum and said, "Make the sunshade above it stronger, so that it won't lose Haihan's face by leaking wind and rain."

"Don't worry about that. I personally lead these construction teams on the construction site. They are all skilled workers. They will naturally do it properly." Liu Shanxia showed full confidence in the ability of his subordinates.The task of supervising this time is actually more political than practical. The main purpose of sending him here is to show how much the Ministry of Construction attaches importance to this project.

After the rostrum and the public viewing area are completed, the Ministry of Construction's task is declared over, and the rest of the venue layout work is actually not much work.However, before the celebration on April [-]st, the phalanx receiving the parade probably needs to rehearse here first, so as to discover possible problems that may arise during the military parade.

Liu Shanxia thought of something at this time, and asked Tao Donglai: "After the celebration here, do you have to go to Panyu to start the new city project?"

Tao Donglai shook his head and said, "The project over there in Panyu is not difficult, and you don't need to go there to direct it. I'll entrust you with important matters."

Seeing Tao Donglai's serious face, Liu Shanxia guessed, "Is he also going on a business trip?"

Tao Donglai did not deny his guess, and gave the answer directly: "I need you to go to Taiwan, and leave after the celebration is over in a few days."

"Taiwan? What project? Why didn't you hear the news before?" Liu Shanxia asked suspiciously.Usually, he will be notified a period of time in advance for large projects in different places, so as to allow him time to check for gaps in the plan and organize the construction team.And he hadn't heard of any large-scale project arrangements in Taiwan before. The Kaohsiung Port has been under construction, but for the construction of the wharf, as long as a junior foreman who has been in the Ministry of Construction for two or three years can also direct the construction, There is no need for a big man like him to step in, and this is probably not what Tao Donglai is referring to.

"This project... Actually, it's not the job of our construction department, but it's a coordinating unit to participate in the construction. For the specific arrangement, you can find a time tomorrow to meet with Mr. Bai, and he will tell you the details." Tao Dong Although Lai answered Liu Shanxia's question, he still didn't seem to say anything.

Seeing Tao Donglai being so mysterious, Liu Shanxia murmured in his heart, but he didn't continue to ask.Bai Kesi is the person in charge of the industrial department. Obviously Taiwan's projects are related to industry, but Haihan's heavy industries are almost all concentrated on Hainan Island. The work was done so tightly that even I was not notified until the event was imminent, which was obviously of extraordinary importance.

However, Liu Shanxia still made a request to Tao Donglai: "Can you arrange a better ship this time? The last time I went on a business trip to Abunana Island, it was really uncomfortable to take that troop carrier. It was stuffy and bumpy, and the speed was slow. When we got there, half of our lives were gone."

"Don't worry, a special fleet will go there this time, and we will arrange an exclusive stateroom for you, so that it won't be as hard as last time." Tao Donglai immediately reassured him.

(End of this chapter)