Chapter 480 New Port Development
Also arriving here by boat with Yu Xiaobao were some business representatives from Guangzhou. The reason why they arrived here early was also very simple, that is, to start building their own business stores here in advance.
Although the Wanshan Port transshipment point built by Haihan at the Pearl River Estuary can also provide convenient transshipment services to Daming merchants, the scale of the local port is really small and cannot meet the growing trade between Haihan and Daming. need. Moreover, Wanshan Port is a military-controlled area under the jurisdiction of the militia. Not only does it have many restrictions on ships and people arriving at the port, but it also does not allow businessmen to build commercial facilities on the island by themselves. Businessmen can only rent already existing facilities on the island. The built warehouses, business stores and other facilities will undoubtedly increase the operating costs of merchants to a certain extent.
The development and construction of Hong Kong Island will change this status quo. In the future, the role of Wanshan Port will tend to be mostly military, while the functions of trade and cargo transshipment will be more borne by the ports on Hong Kong Island. At present, the territory designated by Haihan in the southwest of Hong Kong Island is smaller than when Victory Harbor was first constructed. It needs to be evenly distributed among dozens of merchants, and the area each one can obtain will not be too large. However, the goal of the Executive Committee is to annex the entire Hong Kong Island in the near future. By then, not to mention dozens of merchants, even hundreds will be more than enough.
Of course, what these merchants are interested in is not the geographical advantages of Hong Kong Island itself, but the current leader of the development project is Haihan. Haihan's ability in port development has been proven by two ports in Sanya, and its business reputation is also impeccable. If it were the local government to take charge of this matter, there would really be very few applicants.
The Ming Navy garrison in the north of Hong Kong Island apparently also heard some rumors and sent several ships to patrol in the first few days. However, when they encountered two "exploration ships" of the Haihan Navy off the coast of Ap Lei Chau, -class" warship, they immediately retreated - the Haihan Navy unkindly opened the ship's side gun windows, revealing a row of black holes. The several ships of the Ming Army combined together only had two small-caliber bronze cannons. Of course, they did not dare to attack Haihan. The officer leading the team gave an order, and the Ming Army's warships quickly left the area. The dangerous waters turned back to the north.
Of course, the militia navy had no intention of having an armed conflict with the Ming navy. The purpose of doing so was more to show off their muscles. With the development of this seaport, a large amount of wealth and population will flow into the area, and the garrison in a place that has always relied on mountains and rivers will inevitably make their plans here. Showing your muscles earlier will help you get rid of some people's uneasy thoughts earlier.
In addition to hard measures such as threats of force, Haihan also prepared some soft measures to undermine the vigilance of the Ming Dynasty garrison on the island. There have been many successful experiences on Qiongzhou Island in using small favors to win over the Ming army. For the Ming army, which was in a difficult economic situation, these bribery methods were direct and effective, and were rarely rejected. In addition, with the support of Luo Shengdong as a "consultant", the relevant departments will not give gifts to the wrong recipients because they are unclear about the establishment of the Ming Dynasty's military personnel.
The Executive Committee does not expect that the Ming garrison on the island will voluntarily evacuate in a short time. This is not something they can decide by themselves. The transfer of these garrison will probably require a personal order from the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, Wang Zunde. At present, the Executive Committee has no intention of revealing its intention to annex the entire Hong Kong Island. At this stage, it only needs to maintain peace with the Ming army on the island. Of course, if you can win over some Ming army soldiers, especially sailors and crew members in the navy, and let them join the Haihan navy to achieve the purpose of dismantling the opponent's combat effectiveness, that would naturally be the best way.
However, the small number of Ming troops does not mean that the Executive Committee will relax its control over this area. In fact, after the Army expansion plan proposed by the Central Military Commission was passed, the preparatory work for the Guangdong Military Region was already in progress. Although it is a bit exaggerated to call the establishment of a battalion a military district, both the Executive Committee and the Military Commission still attach great importance to this step.
Prior to this, the garrison near Guangdong was relatively scattered. In addition to the army and navy stationed at Wanshan Port, a small number of militia combatants were stationed at the Immigration Transfer Base and the Garrison Office in Guangzhou in Panyu. As Haihan's control area in the mainland gradually expands, the previous troop configuration is no longer able to meet today's security and defense needs. Apart from anything else, the forts and other military defense facilities that the military plans to build on Ap Lei Chau alone will require at least two companies of combat personnel to be stationed, and this does not include the navy that will guard the waters around Hong Kong Island in the future. Inside.
According to the intention of the Military Commission, the number of troops stationed by Haihan in the Pearl River Delta must be sufficient to ensure the security of several major strongholds - at least to ensure that Haihan's interests in Guangzhou will not suffer a devastating blow. In addition to increasing the number of military personnel stationed locally, more importantly, the garrisons in various locations must be able to coordinate with each other and accept unified command.
At present, the leadership team of the Guangdong Military Region favored by the Military Commission is still the first two people to go to the area, Yu Yao and Xiao Liang. Both of them are soldiers and have excellent professional qualities. They have been stationed in Guangzhou for two years and have been partners for a long enough time. They are familiar with various local situations and have participated in previous militia missions in the mainland. With a certain amount of practical experience in military operations, it can be said that there are basically no obvious shortcomings. Chen Yixin, a young officer currently stationed at Wanshan Port, is very likely to be upgraded as the tide rises, from the current military chief of Wanshan Port to the army commander of the Guangdong Military Region.
Of course, it is not enough to expand the army. The navy must also have a corresponding expansion plan. In fact, the Navy's expansion plan was approved by the Executive Committee earlier than the Army. However, because the Navy's plan involves the construction of a large number of combat ships, the formation period of the army is much longer than that of the Army. To this day, the true significance of the Haihan Navy The first main battleship on board is still in the outfitting stage, and a large amount of construction work has not been completed. Therefore, the navy's expansion plan is also lagging behind accordingly.
The naval force under the Guangdong Military Region planned by Wang Tom will have at least one 1,500-ton steam-auxiliary power warship as the flagship. However, it currently seems that it will take at least three to five months to realize this plan. This timetable still requires all This can only be achieved if all the installation and debugging work can be completed smoothly. If something goes wrong in the middle, it will not be surprising if it is postponed further.
There is another reason that limits the navy's expansion plan, that is, the existing ports under the control of the Haihan Militia cannot dock an entire fleet for a long time, even Wanshan Port. If a future main battleship When a ship sails into the small port area of Wanshan Port, it will be very difficult to turn around inside, and this will obviously be detrimental to the warship's ability to sail in an emergency.
After the completion of the new port on Hong Kong Island, there will obviously be no such problem. There are two channels in and out of the bay, one south and one north. A coastal defense fort will be built on Ap Lei Island, which covers the bay, and warships will be docked in the bay here. Obviously more appropriate.
Therefore, due to two reasons, the Navy's expansion plan has to be postponed to next year. Even if the Navy has begun to train personnel to prepare for the next flagship trial, the official formation time of the Guangdong Military Region Navy is still estimated to be much longer. The ground lags behind the army. However, despite this, the militia navy has transferred several warships into the East Lamma Strait southwest of Hong Kong Island. They patrol the waters between Hong Kong Island and Lamma Island every day, taking the lead in bringing this area under the control of the navy. within.
At nightfall, Yu Dashan walked into the cadre residential area at the east end of the harbor carrying a bottle of "Sanya Special Wine" brought from Shengli Port and a bag of peanuts. The so-called cadre living area here is actually a collective dormitory built with prefabricated houses brought from the headquarters. But for the Yu family and his son, being able to live in such a prefabricated house is a reflection of their status. I am not dissatisfied with the simple furnishings in the room.
Considering the actual situation of the father and son, the engineering headquarters allocated a separate dormitory to them, which was considered a very generous treatment among naturalized citizens. The room only had a bunk bed, a wardrobe and a set of tables and chairs, covering an area of only eight or nine square meters. It was not even equipped with the usual solar LED light source, and only had an oil lamp as a lighting object.
"Are you done?" When Yu Dashan entered the house, he saw his son still writing something in front of the oil lamp, so he asked casually.
"It'll be ready soon." Yu Xiaobao responded without looking back. "Don't panic, do it slowly, and don't make any mistakes!" Yu Dashan warned his son quickly because he was afraid that his son would be anxious.
After Yu Xiaobao arrived at the port, he quickly devoted himself to local work. There was a large amount of data that needed to be summarized by him, and then reported to the General Office of the People's Republic of China. Information, organize manpower and corresponding materials in Guangzhou to send it. Although this task cannot be said to be very arduous, the responsibility is still quite heavy.
While Yu Xiaobao was calculating, he recorded various statistical data received today on paper. After about half an hour, he stretched and stopped. Looking back, I saw my father sitting at the door, looking up at the night sky, wondering about something.
Yu Xiaobao put the things on the table aside in a few moments, put the wine and food that Yu Dashan had brought back on the table, and then went to the door to help him get up: "Dad, I've finished my work. Come in and sit down." ! ”
The father and son sat down at the table. Yu Xiaobao brought the rice bowls for them and naturally opened the bottle and poured wine.
Yu Dashan picked up the bowl and said: "Thank you for your hard work!"
Yu Xiaobao smiled and said "Thank you", picked up the bowl, touched it lightly, and then took a big sip.
The two father and son were peeling peanuts and were silent for a while before Yu Xiaobao took the initiative and asked: "How is the situation on the wharf construction site today?"
Yu Dashan nodded and said: "As usual, these workers all came from the base camp, and they are all experienced at work. However, these two boats of workers were just brought here from Panyu today, and there are quite a lot of problems!"
"Disobeying discipline?" Yu Xiaobao asked.
"Not only were they disobedient, some of them were planning to cause trouble. However, when the people from the militia saw that the situation was not going well, they immediately picked up sticks, knocked over a dozen people on the spot, and took them all away. They must have been sent to the police by this time. Over there at Wanshan Port." Yu Dashan got excited and took another sip from the bowl, wiping his mouth and saying, "I don't know if these guys received camp education when they were in Panyu, but they don't understand any rules. When I arrived at the construction site, I was still asking how much I would be paid for the work and whether I would be given land. Tell me, how is it managed in Panyu? "
Yu Xiaobao responded: "I know a little bit about this matter. Chief Sha, who is in charge of immigration affairs at the Guangdong Office, recently went on a business trip. The few people under him are not very capable. They have no idea what is going on in Panyu." I probably don’t care too much about it. I’ll mention it when I write the report later.”
"Don't go meddling!" Yu Dashan immediately stopped him: "It's not within the scope of your job, so don't push yourself! You think you are doing your duty, but have you ever thought about it? Doing this will sweep away others' sand. The boss’s face! Besides, you are also a naturalized citizen. If you go forward and file a complaint, how will your colleagues treat you in the future?”
"This..." Yu Xiaobao hesitated a little when he heard what his father said: "Then it wouldn't be appropriate for me to know about this but not ask about it, right?"
Yu Dashan shook his head repeatedly and said: "You have to pay attention to the methods of doing things, and dad didn't tell you to ignore it! These new immigrants are disobedient, so naturally the police and militia will teach them how to behave. And you are in charge of coordinating affairs, so you need to ask What the chiefs report is to count how many people here have been sent to hard labor camps for violating labor records. The chiefs are smart people, and they will naturally see the problem from the data you collect, and who will be responsible at that time. If you take the blame, it has nothing to do with you directly.”
"Dad, you..." Yu Xiaobao had to admire Jiang for being so cool. This kind of routine is really unexpected for a young man like him who has just started working. The reason is very simple. He understood it as soon as Yu Dashan pointed it out, but as the person involved, it was difficult for him to think of this aspect.
"Take your time, you can learn something." Yu Dashan was somewhat proud of this.
Yu Dashan also encountered a similar situation in his early work. At that time, he had a similar attitude to Yu Xiaobao, believing that he must inform the leader as soon as possible to be responsible, but the consequences of the handling were not satisfactory. As time passed, he gradually improved his working methods, trying to fulfill his duties as a foreman while not directly offending others.
(End of chapter)