Chapter 446 Asking questions in person
Regarding the units open to the public, after the establishment of the Ministry of Safety, a relatively standardized management model has been established. Ordnance-industrial units such as shipyards can no longer be visited casually as in the early days. Outsiders must obtain a permit jointly issued by the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Shipping before they can visit under the accompaniment of specialized personnel.
The activities of most outsiders in the Sanya area are restricted to a limited area near the two port areas. Only a very small number of people with close ties to Haihan, such as Li Nai, Luo Shengdong and others, can rely on You can move freely with a special permit issued by the Ministry of Security. The relationship between Annan and Haihan is still in the stage of being a pure interest partner. Their special envoys will not enjoy such special treatment for the time being. All travel arrangements for Zheng Lin during his stay in Sanya will be jointly formulated by the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Doesn't leave him much freedom of movement.
Because Zheng Lin came here on behalf of the Annan court and had a special status, his residence was arranged at the guest house on the hillside near Victory Fort. Here you can easily overlook the entire Victory Harbor. When the weather is fine, you can look out of the room window and see the soldiers of the Caspian Han Militia Corps at the military base on the other side of the harbor conducting drills.
Zheng Lin stayed in Heitu Port for a year as an inspector. During this period, he ate and lived with the Haihan cadres, and he was more accustomed to the Haihan lifestyle. For example, Zheng Lin would not be at a loss for facilities such as flush toilets and hot water showers in the room like other people who came to Victory Port for the first time. These things were also available in Heitu Port, and they were not particularly novel to him. .
However, the living environment of this guest house is indeed much better than that of Black Earth Port. Each guest enjoys a separate residence. There are only twelve such villa-style buildings in the entire guest house. Each residence is equipped with three well-trained service staff, and the chefs used are all hired from Guangzhou and specially trained by Haihan’s chief chef Fan Wei. The ingredients are based on various local fresh seafood and Mainly fruits and vegetables. In terms of living conditions alone, they are even much better than the welfare apartments where travelers live.
However, to put it bluntly, the Guest House is also a model project for the outside world. The main reception targets are some related households that need to be attracted. There is nothing wrong with raising the living standards to a higher level. It is also open to the public during leisure hours, and accepts some wealthy businessmen and dignitaries who come to Victory Port to engage in trade business. However, the charging standards are also quite high. The daily occupancy fee for each single-family villa starts at 100 yuan, which is more expensive than the inn suites in the port business district. The price is more than ten times, and ordinary merchants cannot afford such high accommodation fees.
This kind of living environment makes Zheng Lin almost impeccable, but the only thing that makes him feel a little dissatisfied is that the Haihan people seem to have forgotten his existence in the blink of an eye. After staying in the Guest House for three days in a row, no Haihan people contacted him again. The next step of negotiations. And because he did not receive special approval from relevant departments, Zheng Lin's area of activity was also limited to the Victory Port area - he did not even get permission to visit the Sanya port area ten miles away, because the main mode of transportation to the area is To take the commuter train, you must have a naturalized citizen ID card or a permit issued by the Ministry of Security.
It was midsummer, and the temperature in Sanya had already exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. Zheng Lin really had no intention of wandering outside in such a strong sun, so his main activity every day was to sit under the pergola, drink iced juice, and watch Hourly steam locomotives roared past on nearby railroad tracks. Many people who come here for the first time will be frightened by the huge noise of the iron lumps flying by. Zheng Lin's experience of living in Heitu Port once again prevented him from losing his temper. This thing started to appear in Heitu Port half a year ago. The mining area operation has replaced the original animal-drawn mine carts, and the mining efficiency of Heitugang Coal Mine has been greatly improved. As soon as Zheng Lin saw the steam locomotive in Victory Port, he knew that it was the same thing as the coal pulling machine in Heitu Port, but the size was slightly different.
However, after three days of watching the trains at the Guest House, Zheng Lin finally couldn't sit still and asked the service staff to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intending to urge what he had discussed with Schneider and Tom Wang two days ago.
Zheng Lin did not wait too long this time. Soon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a naturalized citizen clerk and invited him to Victory Fort to interview with the leaders of relevant departments.
It turned out that after Zheng Lin's request on behalf of the Annan court was reflected in the executive committee, it also fell into a dispute with different opinions. The military and commercial departments both wanted to expand externally as soon as possible. They hoped that the ports on the Annan coast would be put into use as soon as possible, so they naturally agreed with Annan's suggestions. Another opinion is that the suppression of Annan's shipbuilding industry should not be relaxed so quickly. It should be delayed for at least one or two years. After its own shipbuilding scale and the number of ships it owns reach a certain level, it can gradually open up shipbuilding to Annan. technical assistance. Moreover, Tao Donglai also pointed out that the current technical strength of the Ministry of Construction is not enough to support the implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects overseas, because a group of technical backbones headed by Liu Shanxia are currently in Changhua and have no time to leave.
After holding two meetings in three days and failing to reach a consensus, Schneider proposed that Zheng Lin be present so that the executive committee members could raise some issues they were concerned about face to face to see if a compromise could be found. Way.
After Zheng Lin arrived, Schneider introduced the identities of the people present to him one by one. Zheng Lin immediately became nervous after hearing this. He has long known that the highest authority in Haihan is the executive committee composed of several highly respected Haihan people, and that this executive committee has a very high status and authority in the Haihan collective. Those naturalized people almost regard it as "Serve the Executive Committee" is a mantra on my lips. Zheng Lin also knew that Schneider was one of the executive committee members. He was able to receive Schneider a few days ago. For him, he had achieved his predetermined goal before setting off, but he never thought that he would actually do it this time. I have the opportunity to come directly to the meeting site of this mysterious executive committee and meet these big shots who have created Haihan as a powerful force.
"Special Envoy Zheng, I invite you here today because we are still not very clear about the conditions your country has given this time. I hope you can explain it to us on the spot." After Zheng Lin took his seat, Schneider spoke concisely and to the point. The ground explained to him the purpose of inviting him over.
Zheng Lin responded politely: "This is my responsibility, it should be, it should be."
Schneider said: "Then if you have questions, you can ask Special Envoy Zheng in turn."
"I'll go first." Ning Qi was the first to raise his hand, and then asked Zheng Lin: "I would like to ask about the labor provided by your country. Previously, Special Envoy Zheng said that the labor provided by your country is in After the project is completed, you can decide whether to join the Haihan nationality. Does this represent the intention of your country’s court? ”
"This is what the adults in the imperial court have decided upon through discussion, and it will not change. You can rest assured that when the agreement is reached, this article will be included in the written agreement." Zheng Lin responded immediately.
"Then if the three thousand people proposed by your country are not enough and we need more workers, should we still follow this standard?" Ning Qi asked relentlessly.
Ning Qi's question involves a detail that may not seem obvious, but actually contains a major loophole. Zheng Lin had previously expressed on behalf of Annan that he could provide laborers to Haihan, and lured Haihan, who needed a large number of people, with the final ownership of these laborers. But smart people like Ning Qi quickly noticed the loopholes - if Haihan asked for an unlimited increase in the number of workers, what would Annan's attitude be?
As for whether these people will eventually choose to become naturalized as Haihan, Ning Qi is not worried. In the face of Haihan's generous treatment, few civilians can resist the temptation. What's more, these civilian laborers collected in Annan are different from prisoners of war and refugees. A considerable number of them will be resettled on site to participate in various subsequent infrastructure projects. Project construction does not require them all to migrate across the ocean to settle on Hainan Island.
If Annan did not respond to this loophole, then the Ministry of Civil Affairs could use this loophole to gain at least several times more labor force. Of course, Haihanfang could also be clever and not raise this issue publicly and just start operating it directly when the time comes. However, this could easily cause cracks to reappear in the relationship that had just begun to ease between the two parties. After discussion, the Executive Committee decided We need to put this issue on the table openly and get a clear answer. Zheng Lin was not stupid. If he had not realized the loopholes in the condition proposed by him before, he would naturally have thought of it after Ning Qi emphasized it. Zheng Lin thought for a while before responding: "The number of laborers required for the project should be discussed and approved by both parties."
"Taking into account the various personnel losses that may occur during the project, such as injuries, illnesses, physical weakness, etc., I think we should increase at least 30% of the negotiated number as alternate personnel." Ning Qi also expected what the other party might do. Remedial measures were immediately put forward with new supplementary opinions.
Zheng Lin didn't think too much this time and immediately replied: "Twenty percent at most!"
Ning Qi spread his hands and said, "I don't have any more questions. You can go ahead and ask."
"Let me ask." Gu Kai took over the conversation and said: "While these workers are working for us, will all their affairs accept the jurisdiction of the Annan court, or will they transfer jurisdiction to us?"
"If you need it, our country can transfer the jurisdiction of these workers during their working period to you." Regarding this issue, Zheng Lin had already prepared for it. Officials had discussed this in Annan, and finally It is believed that most of these people will join the Haihan nationality. It would not be a big disadvantage to hand over jurisdiction to the Haihan people earlier.
"Will your country's competent authorities intervene in the payment of labor remuneration to these people?" Gu Kai continued to ask.
This issue may seem unimportant, but a lawyer like Gu Kai, who comes from a later generation and specializes in labor dispute litigation in the United States, will not ignore it easily. According to Zheng Lin's previous statement, the remuneration for these workers will be borne by Haihan, but whether the remuneration will be paid directly by Haihan or by the competent authorities in Annan is completely different. . If it is the latter case, if the laborers' remuneration is too much deducted, it will inevitably bring some unnecessary trouble to the progress of the project.
This kind of thing is not uncommon in later generations. To put it simply, the contractor deducted the wages of migrant workers during the project. The labor provided by Annan must be an official organization, and it would not be surprising if someone in the middle reaches out to reap benefits.
Zheng Lin thought about this for a while before responding: "Our Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Household Affairs will be involved in this matter. You must also understand our country's difficulties."
Zheng Lin understood the hidden meaning behind Gu Kai's question, but he could only respond from a positive perspective. This matter involved the interests of many high-ranking officials, and he, a small envoy, could not dictate major matters in the court.
Gu Kai nodded and said: "In other words, the remuneration we pay to these workers must first be handed over to the Ministry of Industry or the Ministry of Household Affairs of your country, and then your country will distribute it to them?"
Zheng Lin responded: "That's right."
"I'm afraid we will have to discuss this carefully when the time comes." Gu Kai shook his head, obviously not very satisfied with the answer given by Zheng Lin.
"Let me ask the next question." After Gu Kai asked, Yan Chujie, who was sitting next to him, took over: "Special Envoy Zheng, I would like to ask, after the ports are built, will our warships enter these ports? Have complete freedom of passage? ”
Yan Chujie's question was a little too polite. In fact, Haihan's three concessions in the north did not have clear negotiations on the division of authority with the North Vietnamese court at that time. Especially when it came to local military purposes, both parties maintained a tacit understanding. The issue of docking warships was mentioned. Even though half of the ships that docked at Do Son Port all year round were Hai Han's warships, the North Vietnamese court did not raise any objections to this.
However, after the South Vietnam area was again brought under the rule of the North Vietnamese court, the military believed that some details must be clarified as soon as possible and not leave troublesome matters to be dealt with until major problems arise later. Especially in the planning of the four southern ports, the military has designated Cam Ranh Port as a dedicated military port area, so it is even more necessary to clarify this authority as one of the terms of the agreement between the two parties. Otherwise, some political factions in Annan are likely to use this as a reason to attack Haihan's military strategy in the future.
There was also a hint of blush on Zheng Lin's face. For an Annan nobleman, Yan Chujie's question was undoubtedly provocative.
(End of chapter)