Chapter 424 Zhan Gui buys a boat
"Director Zhou, these are 5,000 kilograms of rice and 3,000 kilograms of clean coal entrusted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to be transported downstream. Please send someone to collect them!" Zhan Gui respectfully handed the handover to Zhou Hengxing, who was sitting behind the huge mahogany desk. A piece of paper was handed over.
Since the Shilu project required a large amount of maritime transport capacity to transport personnel and materials from Sanya to Changhua, the Ministry of Shipping had to begin to deploy most of its cargo ships back to the Qiongzhou coast to undertake transportation tasks. Most of the ships plying between the coast of North Vietnam and Sanya have temporarily given up their original transportation tasks, but it is impossible to give up the transportation tasks in this area, so the Ministry of Shipping and other relevant units began to coordinate and hire large Minghai merchants’ ships will be responsible for this part of the transportation capacity demand.
This approach was not the first time it was used after time travel. After the Black Earth Port was developed in 1627, Haihan hired several sea ships for a period of time to travel between Victory Port and Black Earth Port because of its own insufficient transportation capacity. Cargo transportation, after a long period of operation, all aspects of this practice have become relatively mature. Therefore, after the capacity gap appeared this time, the relevant departments quickly notified some Daming Shipping companies with good cooperative relations to let them free up space. The ships temporarily join the fleet under the name of the Ministry of Shipping.
As one of the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" and the only merchant among the twelve external shareholders who specializes in maritime transportation, Zhan Gui is naturally committed to this kind of task. After receiving the notice from the Ministry of Shipping, Zhan Gui quickly ordered his shopkeeper to suspend the merchant ships that were going to Batavia and Guangzhou and instead send them to North Vietnam to transport rice and coal back from there.
This task seems simple, but for Zhan Gui, temporarily mobilizing ships will undoubtedly have to bear a certain amount of economic losses. The employment price given by the Shipping Department is actually not enough to compensate for this loss. However, Zhan Gui is not particularly concerned about how much money he will lose due to Haihan's temporary recruitment this time. He is more concerned about whether the relationship between his shipyard and Haihan's executive committee can be further deepened and strengthened.
If the early cooperation between the two parties was just to earn more economic benefits, then at this stage, Zhan Gui's considerations have gone far beyond how much money can be earned. Not only has he purchased a real estate house in Sanya New City and moved his family here, but his beloved youngest daughter Zhan Zheying has also been sent to a Haihan school to study, and he is determined to spread his roots here. posture.
Because Zhan Gui has been engaged in maritime trade and transportation for many years, he has been to many countries and regions and has seen the customs and customs of various places. From his perspective, he has to admit that the Sanya area under the jurisdiction of the Haihan Executive Committee is One of the nicest places to live he had ever seen. Even in the bustling city of Guangzhou, the comfort level of life is far inferior to that of the small Sanya area. Not only is the natural environment beautiful here, but the people's customs and public security are also very good. More importantly, Zhan Gui can clearly feel that the Haihan Executive Committee's efforts to govern the local area are not to gain economic gains, but to use them as a means of governance. It is being developed and constructed as its own ruling area. And this approach is gradually expanding its scope as Haihan continues to grow.
As far as Zhan Gui knows, at least nearly one-third of the coastal area of Qiongzhou Island is now actually controlled by Haihan. If it continues to develop at this rate, at most in the next two or three years, it is estimated that the entire Qiongzhou Island The island has to change its surname to "Haihan". Although Zhan Gui was born in the Ming Dynasty, he did not have a particularly strong sense of belonging to his nationality because he had been active overseas all year round. Therefore, he did not have a strong sense of rejection towards the situation where Haihan might occupy the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the future. On the contrary, he I have been thinking about whether the Haihan people will establish a new national government on Qiongzhou Island.
Zhan Gui has a relatively clear understanding of the military power, especially the strength of the navy, in the hands of the Haihan Executive Committee. A layman can watch the excitement, but an expert can watch the door. Zhan Gui has visited the operation process of the Victory Port Shipyard, and has also been on the Haihan warship to observe the training. He knows very well that the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Navy far exceeds the level of the Ming Dynasty Navy. If a war breaks out between the two sides in the future due to territorial disputes, there is a 90% chance that the Ming Dynasty will suffer a big loss, and it is even possible that the Ming Dynasty will completely lose ownership of Qiongzhou Island due to defeat.
Based on this understanding, Zhan Gui showed a clear preference for Haihan, consciously increased investment in various business projects of "Qiong Lianfa", and began to actively participate in Haihan's various social activities. In the midst of affairs. For example, the selection of "public opinion representatives" only started in the first half of this year. Before most people understood the situation, Zhan Gui had already actively participated in it.
This "public opinion representative" is actually very similar to the squires and village elders promoted by the Ming Dynasty among the people. They are probably elected by the people with higher prestige as representatives, who are responsible for negotiating some civil affairs with relevant Haihan departments. This status naturally has no power at all, but for businessmen, it is undoubtedly a shortcut to improve their social status. Of course, Zhan Gui does not have the status of a naturalized citizen of Haihan, so the interest groups he represents are only some foreign businessmen, crew members, etc.
And after Zhan Gui became a "public opinion representative", he discovered that this status was not just a false title. The Ministry of Civil Affairs often summoned representatives to the Victory Fort to discuss some of the latest resolutions from the Executive Committee, and they would then convey them to On the grassroots side. Of course, things are not in vain. Migrants like Zhan Gui have also received some very practical benefits because of their status.
Not to mention anything else, this status has already saved Zhan Gui a lot of money in shipping trade. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Shipping, foreign ships need to charge a certain fee for maintenance at the Victory Port Shipyard. However, as a "public opinion representative", they fully enjoy the so-called "internal treatment" in this link, and the fee is only external. Less than one-third of. Maritime merchants like Zhan Gui, who has dozens of large ships under his name, now use Victory Port as the center of their trade network. The money they save on this project in a year is almost enough to build a new business in Sanya New City. I bought a single-family villa in the district.
After tasting a certain amount of sweetness, Zhan Gui became even more enthusiastic about participating in Haihan affairs. As soon as the notice from the Ministry of Shipping was posted at the end of May, he took the initiative to come to the door, willing to deploy the ships under his name to meet the transportation needs of the Ministry of Shipping.
Zhou Hengxing took the shipping voucher handed over by Zhan Gui, looked at it carefully, and then pressed a small switch on his desk. Soon a naturalized citizen came in from outside. Zhou Hengxing handed him the freight voucher and asked him to immediately take people to the dock to count the goods.
"Boss Zhan, sit down for a moment. I'll ask someone to make tea!" This is not the first time Zhou Hengxing has dealt with Zhan Gui. After he returned from Heitu Port, he served as the director of the Sanya Port Management Committee. Like Zhan Gui Such large merchants are basically already familiar with each other.
"Director Zhou is so polite... By the way, I actually have something unclear, and I would like to ask Director Zhou for advice." Zhan Gui responded politely.
"Okay, you say it." Zhou Hengxing stopped what he was doing and looked up at Zhan Gui. Zhan Gui said: "The thing is like this. I asked the Ministry of Shipping about custom-made merchant ships a few days ago, but Minister Yue of the Ministry of Shipping said that it requires a certificate from the civil affairs, port affairs and judicial authorities. I really don’t understand how to handle this procedure, so I would like to ask Director Zhou for some advice.”
"Buy a ship?" Zhou Hengxing asked in disbelief: "Can the shipyard sell ships to external parties now?"
"You can pay a deposit, but the delivery time needs to be discussed." Zhan Gui responded honestly: "I have long been interested in the 'Exploration Class' sailboat produced by the shipyard, but unfortunately the Ministry of Shipping has been saying that there is no construction time. Merchant ships have no choice but to give up. However, the Ministry of Shipping has recently posted a notice saying that reservations for this 'exploration-class' merchant ship have begun."
Zhou Hengxing nodded slightly while listening. After Zhan Gui finished speaking, he said: "The Executive Committee has not yet issued the corresponding document on this matter. I can't figure out what the Executive Committee's attitude is now. I'll wait for it first." Call and ask.”
"I'll bother you later." Zhan Gui was very knowledgeable and immediately stood up to leave. He had seen the time traveler make phone calls many times, but in his opinion, this thing should be some kind of wonderful magic. Although the Haihan people did not seem to be afraid of using this kind of telephony technique in front of him, but Zhan Gui thinks that when the other party is casting spells, it is better to stay far away.
However, his behavior undoubtedly increased his favorability in Zhou Hengxing's eyes. After he exited the office, Zhou Hengxing picked up the phone and dialed Yue Zhiyun's number to inquire about ordering merchant ships. In fact, this is not because Zhou Hengxing is too secluded in the news. It is indeed that the Ministry of Shipping has just introduced a new policy and has not had time to coordinate it with various departments.
After a one-year expansion process of production and expansion at the Shengli Port Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping, its current shipbuilding capacity has improved significantly compared to before. The keels of the 1,000-ton-class ship have already been laid on the two largest slipways, and it is expected to be launched into the water for sea trials early next year. The production of the military version of the smaller "Exploration-class" sailboat has been stopped. The Navy will only order the larger 500-ton "Exploration-class" sailboat, which will be the main force of the Navy in the future. Used by combat ships.
As a result, several slipways in the shipyard were vacant. When the Ministry of Shipping originally designed the "Exploration-class" sailboat, it had fully considered the possibility of future civilian use. Therefore, it has already had corresponding design plans for the modification and construction of the "Exploration-class" merchant ship. This kind of merchant ship has made some modifications to the original hull structure, canceling the design of the two-story artillery platform with a deck, and designing the internal cabin into a structure with the cargo hold as the main body. At the same time, the thick hull and ram angle of the warship model have been modified facilities were weakened and eliminated.
Although this commercial version of the ship is only less than a quarter larger than the traditional Chinese sailboat with 400 materials, its cargo loading capacity far exceeds that of the Chinese sailboat, and due to the use of advanced hull shape and sail ropes The system also has unparalleled advantages in sailing speed. The time required for the same voyage is more than twice as fast as that of a Chinese sailboat. The most important thing is that this kind of commercial ship is also equipped with Haihan's exclusive steering wheel steering system. This convenient driving facility is irresistible to Zhan Gui.
Although the ordering price of the "exploration-class" commercial version is obviously higher than that of a traditional Chinese sailboat, from the perspective of a professional maritime businessman like Zhan Gui, exchanging money for performance advantages is well worth it. If the Haihan people are willing to sell this kind of advanced sailing ship, then it is very cost-effective to pay a higher price. After all, the longer you can pull it, the faster it will run. In the long run, it is much more cost-effective than using a traditional sailing ship. Zhan Gui believes that using this new type of sailing ship is more cost-effective. It only takes a year at most for a sailboat to earn back the cost of buying the boat.
Of course, this kind of advanced sailboat cannot be bought with money. You must first obtain the purchase qualification certification. This qualification certification is initiated by the Ministry of Shipping and is a restriction that must be jointly recognized by shipping, civil affairs, justice, port affairs and other departments to take effect. To put it simply, foreign merchants who have not obtained unanimous approval from the above-mentioned departments are not qualified to order this new type of sailing ship, even if they come with money. If someone is qualified to order this kind of merchant ship but does not have enough funds, the Ministry of Shipping also stipulates that "Haihan Bank" can provide loan services to them, and the collateral is the merchant ship itself.
After the Ministry of Shipping announced relevant matters at that time, Zhan Gui had already decided to buy a few ships first. He had ridden on the Haihan people's sailboat more than once and was very impressed by its good seaworthiness and fast speed. The sailing speed of the Haihan sailboat is more than twice that of a traditional Chinese sailboat. The time required for two trips on this high-end boat is almost the same as the time for one trip on a traditional sailboat. This is equivalent to reducing the freight by nearly half. It is a very cost-effective means of transportation for professional maritime traders.
When Zhan Gui came to the door hurriedly with the banknotes from Haihan Bank, he heard that the qualification to buy a ship still needs to be applied for. Those who want to buy a ship must first go to the designated relevant departments to issue certificates. The content of this certificate mainly explains the cooperation status between the merchant and Haihan, local social relations, private industry, etc., to ensure that ship buyers will not use this new ship to do something detrimental to Haihan - —For example, selling the ship to the Portuguese or the Dutch at a high price.
Speaking of credibility, Zhan Gui, who has dual identities as a shareholder of "Qiong Lianfa" and a "public opinion representative" of Sanya New City, is undoubtedly a standout among those who are qualified to purchase ships.
(End of chapter)