Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 530 Shipping Industry

"Deputy Director Niu, Minister Zhong, a group of representatives from private shipping companies will be here soon to discuss the dismantling of machinery and equipment from the civilian shipyard and the sale of confiscated ships. Among them, Liao Enbai, the son of Liao Zhubin, a shareholder of Taichang Shipping Company, also lived in the United States for a period of time. Have you ever met him?"

"The Liao Enbai that Chief General Chen mentioned is Liao Zhongxu, whose ancestral home is Huiyang and who was born and raised in San Francisco, USA? His courtesy name is Enbai?"

"The Liao Enbai and Liao Zhongxu we are talking about are most likely the same person."

"The Liao family runs several herbal medicine shops, tea shops, and clothing shops in San Francisco. Liao Enbai's father works at the San Francisco office of HSBC and has considerable influence in the Chinese community. In addition, Liao Enbai speaks fluent English and is familiar with the surrounding areas of San Francisco's Chinatown. We, as a group of international students, have frequently come into contact with him and consulted with him."

"It would be even better if you are an acquaintance. After you finish discussing important matters, you can also take this opportunity to have a good time together."

Chen Shen smiled and said, "The United States enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Qing government-sponsored study abroad movement was terminated. Three batches of students went to the mainland of the empire, with nearly 80 people. Among them, the older ones were assigned to different departments and enterprises according to the nature of their majors after returning to the mainland. The majority of the remaining students, like Minister Zhong, were sent to Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Britain and other countries to continue their studies. Since 1884, students who have completed their studies have returned to China one after another and entered various industries. Many of them have taken important positions and assumed leadership positions.

Minister Zhong who served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zhong Juncheng who served as Minister to Hawaii, and Chen Peihu who served as Minister to the Kingdom of Paraguay.

Tang Yuanzhan, Director of the Telegraph Department, Shi Jintang, Major Commander of the 1st Battalion of the 6th Division of the Imperial Army, Zhang Yougong, Commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 6th Division of the Imperial Army, Lieutenant Colonel Kuang Yongzhong, Military Attaché to Hawaii, and Lieutenant Colonel Shen Dehui of the 1st Mixed Brigade,

The Pioneer-class armored cruiser captain Lieutenant Colonel Xu Zhixuan, the Victory-class cruiser captain Lieutenant Colonel Deng Shicong, the Yongxing-class light cruiser captain Major Chen Jurong and others who served in the navy are all outstanding figures in the new generation of government, army, and navy. In another ten or twenty years, your generation of imperial elites who have received new-style education and have studied abroad will fully grow up and be able to take over from us and shoulder the responsibility of reviving the empire. "

"Compared with General Chen, our generation left our homeland at a young age and went to foreign countries to study and learn. We suffered discrimination and insults from foreigners. Two generations have worked hard to restore the glory of our ancestors and to create a fair and peaceful international environment for the next generation, so that they will not have to go through the same path and hardships that we two generations have gone through."

"Each generation has its own responsibilities. We, the elders, followed your majesty in the uprising, experienced sacrifice and hard work, and laid the foundation for the revival of the empire. In the future, it will take the efforts and hard work of generations to ensure the long-term stability of the empire."

After Chen Shen sighed, he waved his hand and said with a smile: "The time agreed with the shipping company representatives is almost up, let's go to the shipyard area next door to receive them."
On one side of the Rio de Janeiro port, nearly a hundred businessmen got off a steamship and headed towards the Rio de Janeiro Shipyard.

"Boss He, Boss Liao, you two have been granted the 5200-ton ocean-going ship construction technology transferred by Xinghe Shipyard. I am so envious of you."

“There are only six companies that have obtained technology transfer qualifications.
Taichang Shipping Company, owned by Mr. He and Mr. Liao, was able to defeat a number of shipping companies with strong capital, such as Guanglong, Changshun, Yongfeng, and Guihe, and obtain a valuable quota. Its future development will certainly be limitless. Taichang Shipping Company has grown stronger and stronger.
Boss He and Boss Liao, please don't forget us, your old partners.

"

"That's right, that's right. Taichang Shipping Company takes the lion's share, and the two bosses don't care about the remaining marginal profits. Can you help us? Our company is small, and the small orders that Taichang Shipping Company has leaked out are enough for us to survive." On the way to meet Chen Shen and others, seven or eight bosses of small and medium-sized private shipping companies who had once cooperated with the two men squeezed around Liao Enzhu, He Binghuan, Liao Enbai and others, and kept trying to please them.

"Thank you for the compliments, bosses. It was pure luck that Taichang Shipping Company got the technology transfer. Boss Wang's Yongshun, Boss Zhao's Dehua, and Boss Sun's Zhaofeng are all as big and powerful as Taichang. I'm sure you will have a place in the next technology transfer."

Liao Enzhu bowed to several people and said modestly.

"Taichang received the technology transfer from Xinghe Shipyard and obtained a shipbuilding order from the imperial government. With such a large order, I believe that Taichang's factory is also operating at full capacity. Boss Liao, Boss He, Taichang made a huge profit in the technology transfer competition last year. This time, the imperial government-led dismantling equipment sale event, the machines and equipment sold are all old second-hand equipment. I believe Taichang should not be interested in them. In the next dismantling equipment sale auction, I hope the two bosses will show some mercy and leave a batch of machinery and equipment for us."

"The seized and dismantled shipyard machines and equipment that are suitable for military use and have advanced technology have all been taken away in advance by Xinjing Shipyard, Royal Shipyard, and Xinghe Shipyard. The rest are just some scrap copper and rotten iron. Taichang has digested the advanced 5200-ton ocean-going ship construction technology, and its technical level is first-class in China. Even if we buy a batch of old second-hand equipment left by the Brazilians at a preferential price, it will not play any role in the development and growth of your company. Instead of doing this, the two bosses might as well continue to digest and study more advanced shipbuilding technology. Maybe the benefits they can get are far higher than these scrap copper and rotten iron in front of them."

"The two bosses are making great progress in their careers. Boss Liao's son Enbai is well-versed in both Chinese and Western culture and has close relationships with many government officials. Boss He's daughter Peizhen was elected as a member of the Jiangzhou House of Representatives, the first female member of the local parliament. Her future is bright. If you ask me, the two bosses have successful careers and families, why bother running around and getting tired?"
Several businessmen who gathered around kept praising He Binghuan and Liao Enzhu, intending to use flattery to reduce the competitive pressure from Taichang Shipping Company.

"Uncles, aunts, and elders, rest assured that Taichang Shipping Company signed an agreement with the imperial government before accepting the technology transfer. In addition to the original ocean-going immigration and commodity transportation business, Taichang Shipping Company's future development direction will focus on the digestion and research and development of advanced shipbuilding technology, and will not compete with you in the sale of dismantling shipyard machinery and equipment."

Liao Enbai took the initiative to explain.

"So what is the purpose of Taichang Shipping Company's visit?"

"The Rio de Janeiro shipyard has a number of 5-ton ocean-going vessels with keel installation completed and construction progress of 7% to 3000%. We plan to buy them. On the one hand, we can verify the level of shipbuilding technology we have digested. On the other hand, the ocean shipping business continues to grow. We are also ready to take this opportunity to add a few more large ocean-going ships for the company."

"A newly launched 3000-ton ocean-going ship costs more than 30 yuan. The construction is more than halfway done. Even at a discounted price, a semi-finished 3000-ton ocean-going ship with the keel installed costs at least to yuan. Taichang Shipping Company is big enough to handle such a big deal."

"Among the shipping companies like mine, only Boss Wang, Boss Zhao, and Boss Sun have complete shipyards, but the shipyards can only build steamships with a maximum displacement of 2000 tons. Other shipping companies only buy a few small and medium-sized steam cargo ships to run offshore shipping business. As for ocean-going steamships with a displacement of more than 2000 tons, there are less than 10 of them in total. It seems that we are not qualified to compete with Boss Liao and Boss He for 3000-ton semi-finished steamships."

After listening to Liao Enbai's explanation, the seven shipping company businessmen who had gathered around him breathed a sigh of relief, and their expressions gradually returned to normal.

(End of this chapter)