Chapter 352 Confrontation and Cooperation
According to South Vietnamese official statistics, more than 3,000 people died in the Hoi An rebellion, and more than 30,000 local residents fled Hoi An during the war. However, among this number of deaths, less than a thousand people were killed directly by the Haihan Militia Army. On the contrary, more people died in the post-war riots. Of course, the South Vietnamese government will not announce this kind of inside story. The blame can only be shouldered by the invaders Haihan people.
The death toll is relatively easy to count, but the property damage is difficult to calculate. The Haihan people looted and took away most of the local property, and the fleeing people also took away some. In the subsequent riots, thousands of mobs looted and divided up the remaining scraps.
For the South Vietnamese court, how many people died in Hoi An City and how much the looted property was worth were not the focus of the matter. After the destruction of Hoi An, how to fill the corresponding financial hole and how to deal with attacks from the sea in the future are the real headaches for the powerful people in charge of the government.
When the South Vietnamese court was shocked by the rebellion in Hoi An, the fleet that expedition to Hoi An had returned to Black Earth Port and Victory Port respectively. Different from when it set out, the size of the fleet has more than doubled. Among them are a large number of ships seized by the militia forces in the name of trophies, and some of them belong to Chinese businessmen who followed the militia forces to evacuate Hoi An.
The voyage from Hoi An to the Pearl River Estuary is more than 500 nautical miles. Most of the Chinese businessmen who fled Hoi An in a hurry failed to prepare enough supplies on the ship. Therefore, almost all the Chinese businessmen who followed the Hai Han warship to evacuate Hoi An chose to go to Victory Port to rest and resupply. ——By the way, let’s also take a look at whether the place that the Haihan people have been tirelessly promoting is as good as they claim.
The Executive Committee also attached great importance to the arrival of this group of people and made corresponding reception preparations before receiving the telegram. These Chinese businessmen are relatively familiar with the maritime trade situation in Southeast Asia, and many of them have trading relationships in places such as Manchuria and Canada. These are resources needed by the commercial department. The summary report meeting after the return of the militia army was probably the most relaxed atmosphere in history.
"...the cash seized in the battle in Hoi An was about 176,400 taels, 8,300 taels of gold, 72 tons of pig iron, 44 tons of copper, and a number of various jewelry and jades. The value needs to be detailed. Statistics can only be made after identification. In addition, more than 14,000 pieces of porcelain, nearly 20 tons of various spices, 470 ivory tusks, and more than 1,300 various animal furs were seized..."
Just reading the list of trophies took Tom Wang a full quarter of an hour. The seizure in Hoi An was so rich that when we left, due to limited space, we had to give up some supplies that were not of high value, such as rice and other grains. It will take some time to calculate the overall value of the loot, but based on the material statistics on paper, it must be 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. The militia army has carried out several external military operations, each time with considerable gains, but this time the gains are definitely the greatest, and the economic gains have even exceeded the sum of the previous operations.
Of course, while the executive committee members were excited, they did not forget that the original intention of taking this action was to attack South Vietnam at a strategic level and destroy its foreign trade career. After everyone waited patiently for Wang Tom to finish reading the list of spoils, Tao Donglai cleared his throat and said: "This time there are so many spoils that the ship can't load them all. Now everyone doesn't have to worry about losing money in the war."
There was a burst of good-natured laughter from everyone, and Tao Donglai continued: "The seized materials will be handed over to the relevant departments for inventory first. Those that should be discounted will be discounted, and those that should be sold will be sold. After the data is collected, the materials will be calculated according to the proportion we have determined in advance. , allocated by the Ministry of Finance to the Military Commission. Tom, do you think there is a possibility of a comeback in Hoi An after this battle? "
"It's difficult." Wang Tom shook his head decisively and said: "We destroyed not only Hoi'an City, but also the beliefs of the South Vietnamese. They should know very well that even if Hoi'an City can be rebuilt, it will not prevent us from destroying it again. Regardless of whether they are Chinese businessmen or Portuguese, they will probably have no illusions about Hoi An after this incident.”
"As long as the Portuguese cut off military aid to South Vietnam, North Vietnam will be able to go south and annihilate the Nguyen family in at most a year." Yan Chujie was very clear about the military strength of both sides in the Annan Civil War, and immediately added: "Even if we want to rebuild Hoi An, we have to wait until the Annan Civil War is over and let the North Vietnamese court hand over Hoi An to us for construction."
"Rebuilding Hoi An is of little significance. The terrain of that place is not very good, and the inland port will restrict the development of the city. I think if a port city is to be built there in the future, it would be better to put it in Da Nang, north of Hoi An." Tom Wang did not blindly agree with his boss's views on this issue, but put forward new views based on the situation he discovered locally.
"Tom is right." Ning Qi also said: "Because Hoi An Port is an inland port, it must be dredged and dredged regularly every year. This is not a small project. Historically, in the 18th century, Hoi An Port was It was gradually abandoned because of the siltation of the river. In contrast, Da Nang, which has a natural harbor, has much better conditions and has the potential to build a large port.”
"Whether it's Hoi An or Da Nang, the Portuguese are probably more anxious now to find a new transit port." Tao Donglai quickly brought the topic back. If they were allowed to discuss it on their own, I don't know what the topic was. Where will he be led astray: "Enrique came to talk to me two days ago, hoping to set up a Portuguese trading station in Port Victory."
Enrique, the special envoy sent from Macau, was not in a hurry to leave Port Victory after the Haihan Militia sent troops. He only sent people to take a boat back to Macau to report the news. The Executive Committee did not stop him from doing this at all - if the Portuguese had the ability to hinder Haihan on the Annan issue, there would probably be no need to send Enrique, the special envoy, to Port Victory to lobby.
Although his treatment did not change at all, Enrique's life in Port Victory suddenly changed from a leisurely paradise to a day-to-day life. He had also been to Hoi An City and knew that the defense there could not withstand the Hai Han militia armed with live ammunition, strong ships and cannons. It was only a matter of time before the fall of Hoi An City. Enrique is not worried about the safety of Hoi An City. What he is worried about is the personal safety of the local Portuguese people. If these people die at the hands of the Hai Han militia, then the peace talks between the two sides will inevitably break down. Once they enter a state of war, Macau will The Portuguese may not be able to withstand the attack of the Haihan militia.
Due to various considerations, Enrique must wait for the results of the victory in Port Victory before making the next decision. After suffering like this for more than ten days, Enrique finally received notice from the Hai Han people - the city of Hoi An had been destroyed, the local Portuguese were in trouble and their personal property had been confiscated, and five others were accused of trying to attack the Hai Han people with force. The regiment was divided and hanged.
After receiving such news, Enrique breathed a sigh of relief. Only five people died, and they were all unknown minor characters, so it wasn't a big deal. As for the property of local businessmen being confiscated by the Hai Han militia, this is even more indifferent to Enrique - who made them choose to stay in a place like Hoi An? At least the Haihan people did not kill them all, but also let the local Portuguese live, which left a way out for the two sides to continue negotiations.
After Enrique calmed down, he naturally thought of the consequences of the destruction of Hoi An City. Although the Portuguese had not completely lost their foothold on the Indochina Peninsula, they had undoubtedly destroyed the maritime trade that supported the South Vietnamese economy. Most likely, if South Vietnam wants to organize a large army for the Northern Expedition in the future, it will inevitably face economic difficulties. Of course, these were all problems of the South Vietnamese court, and Enrique had no intention of planning for this dynasty that was beginning to decline. What he was thinking about was where to find a new trade transit station after losing the Hoi An port. In fact, there are many natural harbors in the southeastern coastal areas of Indochina, such as Quy Nhon, Cam Ranh and other places. It would not be too difficult for the Portuguese to establish trading stations in these places. But the problem is that just establishing a trading station is not enough. If you want to form a new maritime trade port, a large number of maritime merchants must be willing to go to these places, and the Portuguese do not have enough goods in their hands to attract maritime merchants. In the entire South China Sea, apart from Malacca and Batavia in the south, the most prosperous port is probably the Port of Victory, which is still in a period of rapid development.
Enrique was not idle during these days in Port Victory. He went around almost everywhere he could get permission and gained a deeper understanding of the surrounding environment of Port Victory. Victory Port has two natural harbors, one large and one small. This natural condition is very suitable for the construction of a large port city. Moreover, since the opening of Victory Port, it has attracted a large number of merchants from the Ming Dynasty to trade here. The Haihan people have even organized large commercial organizations such as "Qiong Lianfa" to invest heavily in local development and construction.
Enrique once visited Sanya New City accompanied by Schneider. He could only describe the Haihan people's plan as ambitious - an inland port that can accommodate hundreds of merchant ships docking at the same time, a ten-mile urban area, and an area of Large-scale farms measuring tens of thousands of acres, as well as hundreds of thousands of residents who will live here in the future, all these ideas are being gradually realized under the command of the Haihan Executive Committee.
The tax-free policy implemented by Victory Port will undoubtedly attract more merchants to trade here in the future. Ming merchants will definitely be happy to transport goods here and sell them to the Haihan people, rather than being forced to collect them. Tariff of Batavia or Manila. When Western merchants learn about the policies and environment here, they will probably give up waiting for the arrival of Ming merchants in their own colonies and take the initiative to purchase cheaper goods in Victory Port.
If the Portuguese need to find a new trade transit station in the South China Sea, Port of Victory is undoubtedly an excellent choice. After Enrique figured this out, he didn't even send anyone to ask for instructions from the Macau Council. He went directly to Tao Donglai and applied for establishing a trading station - the destruction of Hoi An was already an irreversible situation, and the Portuguese If you don't want to lose more, you must at least stand in Port Victory before the Spanish and Dutch.
"The Portuguese want to build a trading station in Port Victory? This is a good thing. Just abide by the rules of the game we set and let them come. Of course, don't forget to collect money." Schneider responded with a smile. When foreign merchants want to establish a business station in Victory Port, Schneider has always tried his best to facilitate it, not to mention that the commercial department has always been looking for a partner who has mastered the Western shipping routes.
As a time-traveling group with a large amount of cross-era black technology, it would be a waste if the products it produced could only be sold within the Ming Dynasty. Distant Western countries were also the target customers scheduled by the business department. In particular, some highly profitable products, such as silk fabrics, porcelain, cane sugar, and arms that never have to worry about sales, are all hard currencies that can be sold to Western countries in large quantities. However, what currently limits this trade is not the productivity and technological level of the Crossing Group, but the boundless sea.
The Crossing Group does have some navigation experts like Wang Tom, but the strength of the entire shipping industry is still weak, not even comparable to that of Ming Dynasty merchants like Xu Xinsu. At present, the relatively stable routes under the Ministry of Shipping are only two from Victory Port to Heitu Port and Guangzhou. As for places farther away, they are still only on paper plans.
From Asia to Europe, it takes more than half a year to complete the thousands of miles of sea voyage. For such long-distance voyages, the Crossing Group may not have the strength to complete it in the next few years, and it is unlikely that the limited elites will be able to complete it. Personnel are involved in the task of opening up ocean routes. After all, the main development areas of the Crossing Group are still concentrated in the Far East and South Asia. Therefore, the executive committee has always hoped to find a partner to carry out the task of opening up the Western market - just like it cooperated with "Furuifeng" to open up the Ming Dynasty market.
In response to Enrique's request, the executive committee members rarely raised any objections unanimously. The militia army showed mercy to the Portuguese in Annan. This was originally a decision made by the executive committee in advance. It was hoped that this method could express its "goodwill" and use both kindness and power to make the Portuguese aware that they were looking for partners. mistakes made. Enrique has obviously thought of this now and is trying to remedy it.
The day after the militia returned to Port Victory, Enrique hurriedly left Port Victory and rushed back to Macau. He needed to report what he saw and heard in Port Victory to the Council as soon as possible, and also informed Annan of the latest situation. Notify the Board of Directors of changes.
On the day Enrique left Victory Port, the first batch of Ming immigrants recruited by Lijiazhuang near Guangzhou were welcomed, totaling more than 700 people, and nearly a thousand people would arrive in the port within the month.
At this time, three months had passed since the militiamen fought in Lijiazhuang and finalized the establishment of an immigration transfer station. The reason why it took so long was, on the one hand, that a large number of temporary residences and corresponding living facilities for immigrants had to be built locally, and the local The work efficiency of the recruited migrant workers was obviously not comparable to that of the naturalized workers in Victory Port, resulting in repeated delays in the construction period. On the other hand, it was because the Li family had a public break with Li Fengjie, the top leader in Guangdong, and was deliberately suppressed by the Guangzhou government at that time. Even his achievements in wiping out the bandit leader Liao Dabi were not publicly commended. In order not to give the government an excuse to cause trouble, the Li family did not rush to openly recruit refugees. It was not until recently that Li Fengjie finally stepped down as the Haihan people said, and Wang Zunde, the right minister of the Ministry of Punishment, took over as the governor of Guangdong and Guangdong and the governor of Guangdong. The Li family finally showed its signs and recruited Immigrants went to Qiongzhou Island to reclaim wasteland.
Since they had received "pointers" from Ning Qi and others in advance, the Li family started to burn cold stoves with Wang Zunde half a year ago, and this move obviously had very good results. As soon as Wang Zunde took office, he began to treat his predecessor The battle of Lijiazhuang, which has been silent all this time, was reissued with an official commendation order. In the commendation order, the Li family was praised for "serving the country and the people, being loyal and courageous, and should be a model for the gentry in Guangdong and Guangxi." Wang Zunde also spoke highly of the Li family's initiative to provide work-for-relief, pay all expenses, and recruit disaster-stricken victims and unemployed people in Guangdong to open up wasteland on Qiongzhou Island, and gave the green light all the way, allowing the Li family to send people to the province. Open recruitment is conducted in every state and county in the country.
In this way, the Li family's recruitment activities will undoubtedly have official endorsement, and they will have higher credibility while they are ongoing. The Li family's recruitment activities in various states and counties have official officials coming forward to maintain order. There are even official documents issued by the Yazhou government, proving that the Li family's recruitment activities are supported by the policies of the local government, and the public does not have to worry about being shipped. Sold to Nanyang to be piglets.
The official also found a new way to solve the problem of victims who had been suffering for many years. They shipped these homeless victims to remote Yazhou, where they were allowed to open up wasteland and work, and they had enough food and clothing. The family is responsible for the supply, and the local government no longer has to worry about the refugees revolting and causing trouble in order to survive. As for whether the fields cultivated by these immigrants belong to themselves, the Li family, or other landlords, Mr. Wang does not care that much. Peace is the greatest political achievement. The issue of land ownership is naturally It will be handled by the local government.
An immigration transfer point that can accommodate 3,000 temporary residents has been built in Lijiazhuang, Panyu County, and the dock has been renovated to allow more immigrant ships to dock here at the same time. According to the prior agreement, all this expense was borne by the Crossing Group, and it was not a small sum. Just to build this transfer point and prepare to recruit various materials and manpower required, ten thousand taels of silver were spent, and From May to August, dozens of tons of rice and more than 3,000 sets of clothing were shipped to the local area. A large amount of medicines and daily necessities were also purchased in Guangzhou. It seems that the Ministry of Civil Affairs has made great efforts in establishing this transfer point. original capital.
(End of chapter)