Chapter 363 Eavesdropping
In terms of grand colonial strategic intentions, although the overall strength of the Portuguese has begun to decline, their achievements in Asia are still considered outstanding when compared with European countries of this era. From Goa to Malacca, and then to Hoi An and Macau, the Portuguese connected the colonial points by sea transportation and outlined an ocean route spanning the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It was through such a route that the Portuguese were able to obtain huge profits from East-West trade.
Although more than a hundred years have passed since the Portuguese Vasco da Gama arrived in Goa on the west coast of India. From the perspective of future generations, their speed of expanding shipping routes is not really fast, but with the current level of navigation It is not easy to explore such a route in an unknown world.
The advantage of the Crossing Group is that hundreds of years of knowledge accumulation allow them to easily select the strategic points or resource production areas that are most suitable for establishing colonization points on the map, and use this as a goal to formulate corresponding colonization construction. Plan without having to blindly wander around the sea trying to get lucky like the Portuguese did. And because the Crossing Group has a very clear understanding of the direction of history, they have a clear purpose and a clear attitude in the process of contacting external forces. They almost never make any mistakes and basically make use of all the historical trends that can be used. It also greatly reduced the resistance from the outside world during the expansion process, and was far ahead of other colonial competitors of the same era in terms of efficiency.
While the Macau Council was still arguing over whether to temporarily give up its rights and interests in South Vietnam in exchange for cooperation opportunities with Haihan, their opponents had already made a decision to gradually eliminate Western countries in Central and South Vietnam more than a year ago. Peninsula Influence Plan. Whether it is selling weapons to North Vietnam to provide military assistance in the early stage, or sending troops to fight against South Vietnam twice this year, this is just a step in a long-term strategic plan. In other words, the main reason why South Vietnam is hostile to the Crossing Group is actually the intervention of the Portuguese. If it were not to expel them, the Crossing Group might not be in a hurry to roll up its sleeves and go ahead on its own.
Although the Portuguese have now agreed in exchange to no longer intervene in the Annan Civil War, this does not mean that Haihan will stop exerting military pressure on South Vietnam. The Crossing Group now not only provides military support to the imperial court in the north, but has also begun to secretly sell arms to the Champa State in the south, which Annan has suppressed for decades, trying to support another group in the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula that can pose a military threat to South Vietnam. power.
The Portuguese envoy Enrique was completely unaware of these private moves carried out by the Haihan people. Now he only noticed that in the more than a month between the two visits to Victory Port, the population under Haihan's rule increased by more than 3,000 people, more than 2,000 acres of new farmland was reclaimed, and various types of housing were built. More than three hundred households, as well as two warships and four merchant ships were recently launched. Of course, he did not collect these data and intelligence by himself. If he had this ability, he would have been arrested by the relevant departments on charges of espionage. In fact, it was the Executive Committee that provided him with these data. All the information came from in official statistics.
The purpose of the Executive Committee is also very clear, that is, to make the Portuguese clearly realize that it is unrealistic for them to compete with Haihan in the South China Sea region for development speed, and it is unlikely that they will have the opportunity to influence the region in the future. Surpassing Haihan in strength. If the two sides want to carry out in-depth and multi-faceted cooperation in the future, then the Portuguese must face reality, give up all hostility, and focus on business and trade with peace of mind, and stop thinking about doing business within Haihan's sphere of influence. What kind of colonial tricks.
Although the executive committee "generously" released a series of data to Enrique, he was not allowed to have access to certain specific manufacturing links at all. For example, units related to shipbuilding and military industry have never been open to Enrique. Although he also applied to visit in his own name, he was rejected by the personnel in charge of foreign affairs reception for "security" reasons.
Enrique will naturally not be satisfied with this kind of unilateral information reception. On the one hand, he came to Sanya to negotiate with the Haihan people on trade cooperation and military conflicts. On the other hand, of course, he also wanted to collect Haihan intelligence and judge the Haihan people. The purpose of Han's next move. Although the Haihan people seemed to generously publish a series of civil affairs data, these things were not urgent to Enrique. He also wanted to know how many muskets and artillery the Haihan people's arsenal could produce every month, how many unknown secrets were hidden in the shipyard that could build new warships, and how big the Haihan militia under the Executive Committee was.
Unfortunately, it is impossible for this information to come out of Haihan's mouth voluntarily. What Enrique can do is to try to collect some fragmentary information from the people he comes into contact with on a daily basis, and then select and piece together the valuable parts. The information that can be collected through this channel is extremely limited, and most of it is worthless, because almost all the time travelers and naturalized people that Enrique can come into contact with are not working in key departments, and most of them have no way of knowing. The information Enrique wanted to find out.
However, Enrique is not particularly anxious about this, because he can also clearly feel that the Executive Committee does not seem to be hostile to Portugal. On the contrary, it is very interested in purchasing some goods that cannot be produced locally through Portuguese businessmen. For example, Indian canvas, and trying to sell some locally produced industrial products to Europe. Negotiating with the Haihan people here while enjoying the unique tropical seaside life in Sanya is actually a very pleasant thing. At least it is much more comfortable than staying in the smelly little port in Macau.
Except for some explicitly prohibited military restricted areas, Enrique's whereabouts in Sanya are not particularly strictly controlled, so he can also enjoy authentic Cantonese cuisine in Chinese restaurants in the business district. Compared with the free meals provided by Haihan Guesthouse, the choices in the restaurant are obviously more. Although it costs some extra money, this is not a problem for Mr. Special Envoy - the board of directors specially approved it before coming this time. An activity fund was given to him, which was enough to meet his daily needs during his stay in Victory Port.
With nothing to do this day, Enrique took his servant Koko to his favorite "Ruifeng Building" for dinner. This "Ruifeng Building" is one of the industries under "Fu Ruifeng", and it is also one of the first commercial institutions to be opened in the Victory Port area. In the front is a restaurant mainly engaged in catering, and in the backyard there is a Fengyue Restaurant for the entertainment of local dignitaries. The venue is one of the few local places that can provide one-stop services for eating, drinking and having fun.
Enrique didn't come here for the romantic place in the backyard. Although he really wanted to try the Haihan model service, which was said to be quite advanced, unfortunately, this place was not open to foreigners, not even naturalized citizens. With this qualification, only true Haihan people would be allowed in, and they had to register a reservation one or two days in advance. Enrique was amazed by the strict control. He traveled from Europe to Asia across several continents, and had been to many romantic places, but he had never heard of any place having rules like this one. If Enrique really wanted to find a place to satisfy his physiological needs, he could only go to limited places between the business district and the naturalized residential area and purchase services from private prostitutes who had received special business licenses.
With the explosive growth of the local population, the scale of the institutions that originally provided sex services was far from being able to meet the needs of the majority of singles. The relevant departments had to relax the initially set conditions and restrict the operation rights of special places. It has gradually shifted from joint operation to private operation, and the market has been regulated as standardized as possible by restricting business premises and professional qualifications. Of course, there are also some other "discerning" foreign businessmen who have noticed this industry and requested relevant departments to enter this industry. Nowadays, there is not much opposition to special industries. After all, the local situation of more men than women will not be effectively improved for the time being. In order to maintain social stability, some industries that should be liberalized must still be allowed to exist reasonably. Go down.
However, the joint venture agreement reached between the Executive Committee and "Furuifeng" contained regional exclusivity clauses, so new entrants could only open their business premises in Sanya New City, and except for some in Shengli Port Apart from retail investors, there is still only one "Ruifeng Building" that is officially operating as a romantic place. Just the selling point of "designated consumption place" is enough to make "Ruifeng Building" a leading high-end place in the local area, and it is always crowded with guests every day. When foreign merchants want to entertain guests, they basically use this place as their first choice to show their knowledge and interest.
Although he was unable to enjoy the services in the backyard, Enrique also fell in love with the taste and environment after having a meal at "Ruifeng House". Even when there were no social activities scheduled, he would come here on his own. meal.
Perhaps because Enrique's appearance is so eye-catching and easy to recognize, the waiter here has already remembered his name, and greeted him warmly when he saw him at the door: "Yes, boss, please come in!"
The first floor is a place for ordinary people to eat. Most of them are foreign businessmen who come to Shengli Port for business, and occasionally there are some local naturalized citizens. The grade on the second floor is slightly higher, with screens separating each table. Those who spend money on this floor are usually wealthy bosses or naturalized cadres. The third floor is all private rooms, which are relatively expensive and only accommodate the upper class of society. Enrique went to the second floor and chose an empty table facing the street. After the waiter poured hot tea, he took the initiative to recommend it to him: "There are new dishes today. Boss En, do you want to try them? There are some that have just been delivered from the port. The prawns are all alive and kicking! ”
"Then let's have the boiled shrimp first!" Enrique began to order with ease: "Then we'll have the boiled chicken, the fried tofu with meat, the fried stuffed eggplant... Then we'll have the old fire soup and a pot of plum wine, that's all. ! ”
"This is life!" Thinking of the stinky fish and rotten shrimps in Macau restaurants, Enrique deeply felt that he was extremely lucky to be sent to Port Victory as an envoy. He should think about whether he should consider replacing the person in charge of the local business station. I took over the job so that I could stay in Sanya in the future instead of having to live in the dirty and messy environment of Macau. The dishes he ordered were quickly delivered. Enrique took out a two-cent coupon, sent the servant to go outside to find food on his own, and then began to peel the shrimp leisurely.
But after a while, Enrique's mind was no longer on the food in front of him, because he heard something in the conversation on the other side of the screen that interested him very much.
Then I heard a man ask: "Old Huang, it seems like your workshop hasn't had a break recently?"
The man known as Lao Huang was also a man, and he immediately responded: "There is no way. The chief said that we have to work overtime to catch up on the work. All holidays this month have been cancelled. I don't know where to sell so many cannons... …”
As soon as Enrique heard the word "cannon", his ears immediately pricked up. The artillery fire of the Hai Han people has fully demonstrated its power in two military operations against South Vietnam, and it also sold large quantities of this artillery to the North Vietnamese court. The Macau Council has also been trying to figure out where the Haihan people got the technology to make artillery. But after Enrique came to Port of Victory, he gradually realized that the artillery-making technology in the hands of the Haihan people probably did not come from the outside world, because the speed and scale of their artillery manufacturing far exceeded that of the Guangdong government, and in addition to the large-scale artillery, Casting technology has been greatly ahead of the Ming Dynasty, and may even be superior to Western countries including Portugal.
The 24-pound artillery pieces erected on the fortifications of Victory Port are by no means weapons that can be manufactured by the current Daming Artillery Factory. The fact that the Haihan people can equip so many large artillery pieces at one go has fully proved their manufacturing capabilities. The technology is quite advanced. It must be known that based on the current era of gun-making technology, the larger the caliber of the gun, the lower the chance of passing it. And the materials used in gun-casting cannot be reused because of insufficient structural strength. Yes, it can only be used to make farm tools. When the scrap rate is high, the cost of making cannons will double and rise. Enrique believes that although the Haihan people are martial, they may not be able to afford the economic losses caused by the high scrap rate when casting large cannons. Since they can To cast so many large-caliber cannons, one must have mastered some technical secrets to increase the success rate.
The artillery equipped by the Portuguese in Asia, including the artillery they sold to the Ming Dynasty and Annan, were almost all produced in Europe. Although the Portuguese in Asia did not master the technology of casting cannons, the large-scale smelting equipment and large amounts of raw materials required for cannon-casting were difficult to achieve in their colonial areas. As a subject of the empire who relied on navigation and cannons to expand outward, Enrique knew very well that only when cannon-making reaches a certain scale can the manufacturing cost be effectively reduced. If the Haihan people really started to cast cannons on a large scale, then In addition to going to war, I'm afraid the biggest possibility is to try to reduce costs in order to win higher returns in the arms trade.
That old Huang then said: "Xiao Bai, your unit sells weapons to the outside world, but it gave me a clue. Where are these extra artillery going to be sold?"
Xiaobai responded: "Old Huang, I'm just an errand boy. I don't dare to guess what the leaders are planning."
When Enrique heard this, he already understood the identities of the two people. Hearing the tone of their voices, they should be naturalized civilian cadres. Old Huang must be the technician in charge of casting cannons, and the other named Xiao Bai is " Employees of "Haihan Military Industry". The topic they are talking about now is one of the intelligence information that Enrique is trying to understand in every possible way.
There was silence on the other side of the screen for a while, then Xiaobai spoke again: "Old Huang, I have said something here, please don't spread it out."
Lao Huang responded: "Tell me, brother, am I the kind of person who doesn't hold his tongue tightly?"
Enrique thought to himself, I don’t know if you are tight-lipped, but the friend next to you is obviously not tight-lipped.
Xiaobai then said: "I heard that these cannons are going to be sold to the west, to countries where Westerners live."
Lao Huang didn't seem to agree with this statement: "Aren't you lying to me? Those Westerners can make cannons themselves. I have heard that they sold cannons to the Guangzhou government. How could they still spend money? Buy guns from us?”
"You are an old man!" Xiaobai was obviously very confident in his source of information: "The chief once said that the artillery made by Westerners is not as good as ours in terms of range, accuracy, service life, and loading speed. Han artillery, the South Vietnamese army collapsed at the first touch on the Annan battlefield, also because their firepower was far inferior to that of our militia artillery. Nowadays, both the Annan guards and the Fujian navy buy artillery from us. Human artillery can’t be sold at all.”
Enrique snorted inwardly, it wasn't that he couldn't sell it, but that there was nothing to sell at all. The artillery and muskets sold by the Portuguese in Asia were basically purchased in Europe and shipped across the ocean. First, the quantity was limited, and secondly, the price was high after the cost. Facing the Haihan weapons, which were produced in Sanya, there was almost no competition. There are advantages to speak of. Moreover, as the Thirty Years' War in Europe gradually intensified, the weapons and equipment in their origin could no longer keep up with the needs of the war, let alone exported to the distant East. The Macau Council agreed to stop military aid to the South Vietnamese court. In fact, there is an unexplainable reason why the supply of arms trafficking from Europe has been interrupted. Unless they recklessly dismantle their own fortresses and the artillery on armed merchant ships to fill the holes, Otherwise, we will no longer be able to supply them with guns and artillery weapons in large quantities for some time to come.
As a qualified maritime businessman, Enrique has never thought of purchasing weapons from Haihan and then reselling them to Europe. He believes that with the order size that the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce can propose, he will definitely be able to get a lower price than other customers. The purchase price is enough to ensure that these weapons will still make a relatively large profit after they arrive in Europe. But Enrique doesn't quite understand why the Haihan people, who have little contact with Western countries, would come up with such an idea.
(End of chapter)