Chapter 529 The truth behind the scenes
"These gossips from outside are not reliable. The plans of the Haihan people are not so easy to guess!" Li Jifeng slowly put down the teacup and lectured his two sons standing in front of him: "In short, no matter what the Haihan people do, The purpose of doing it must be to make money. We just need to follow up. There is no need to rush to get to the bottom of it. We will naturally know the answer in two days.”
This time, Li Jifeng received a notice from Haihan, asking "Furuifeng" to send people to attend the "Qiong Lianfa" shareholders' meeting held in Zhennangang. It happened that he also had some matters to discuss with the senior people from Haihan. In addition, Zhennan Port was not too far away, so he went to the meeting in person and brought his two sons with him who had more contact with Haihan.
Among Li Jifeng's three sons, except for the eldest son Li Fa, who has separated from the family and has been stationed in Fujian for a long time to run local business, the second son Li Po and the third son Li Nai have been engaged in business cooperation with the Haihan people in recent years. Activity. Especially Li Nai, a Haihan fan, who stays in Sanya for at least three or four months a year. He has close contacts with Haihan’s senior management. He is close friends with many people on the executive committee and is still in Sanya New City. Property purchased. If he hadn't been the person in charge of the Golden Shield Transport and needed to be stationed in Guangzhou to handle affairs, I'm afraid Li Nai would have moved to Sanya to settle down long ago.
After Li Po and Li Nai arrived at Zhennan Port, they attended some social occasions on behalf of "Fu Ruifeng" and visited each other with various people in the business district. The topic that everyone will talk about at the moment is what kind of surprises the Haihan Society will announce at this conference.
A considerable number of people believe that the next area that the Haihan people will develop will be Qiongxi, because since last year, the Haihan people have been building ports and roads in Changhua County, Qiongxi, and carrying out extensive construction projects. This is not confidential news. Almost all the merchants who travel between Danzhou and Sanya all year round know this. Moreover, the Haihan people built not an ordinary loess official road, but a unique double-track railway like Sanya. This costly mode of transportation has foreshadowed Haihan's local development efforts.
Well-informed people have already inquired about relevant news. It is said that the Haihan people have discovered giant iron ore in the local inland mountainous area, and will begin large-scale development as soon as the road is built. As for whether the government would intervene in this matter, the merchants did not care - without the Haihan people, would the Changhua government have the ability to mine on its own? Even if they did, could they still stop what the Haihan people wanted to do? What's more, anyone who has been to Changhua City knows what is going on. The local government has long been ignored by the Haihan people. The thousands of households in the garrison have also mixed with the Haihan people. There are not many traces of the Ming Dynasty left.
No businessmen are concerned about the opening of the mine, because the Haihan people do not allow outsiders to intervene in the mines. There is no trading firm in the Sanyatian Du Iron Mine that can take a stake in it, and the mine has never been in the "Qiong Lianfa" appears in the investment project list. However, from Haihan's huge investment in the local area, it is not difficult to infer that people's livelihood near Changhua will inevitably be driven by mining in the future, and there will definitely be a lot of business opportunities. Referring to Haihan's approach in the development of Sanya, it is highly possible to introduce merchants from the Ming Dynasty to invest locally.
Others believe that Haihan’s next investment location will be on Hong Kong Island. The reason is also very clear. The Haihan people spent a lot of effort last year to encircle this land in the southwest corner of Hong Kong Island and then invite investment for development. When building a port, it was clear that it was going to be settled here. In terms of the development potential of this area, it is obvious that there are still great limitations. If the Haihan people really want to make a big splash here, they will probably have to expand to the north of Hong Kong Island - just like they did on Qiongzhou Island. Do the same thing.
In the eyes of these businessmen, the Ming Navy stationed on Hong Kong Island is irrelevant. How many people can maintain their integrity in the face of Haihan's powerful money offensive and threats of force? A large part of the navy on Qiongzhou Island is helping the Haihan people run the smuggling business. How can the navy on Hong Kong Island be any better? As long as the Haihan people want to take over Hong Kong Island, the navy on this island will not be much of a resistance - maybe it will even become their assistance.
After taking over Hong Kong Island, how much role will this place play for the Haihan people who make a fortune in maritime trade? Almost all of the participants at the meeting were insiders, so they could naturally analyze a lot of favorable conditions from all aspects of the time and place. Moreover, the past operating results of the Haihan people on the port were enough to give Ming investors full confidence. As long as the Haihan people say they are planning to enclose land on Hong Kong Island, all they have to do is come out with their money and start throwing money into it. Anyway, with the level of management of the Haihan people, they will not lose money anyway.
These two mainstream opinions are supported by many people. After listening to a lot of discussions outside, Li Nai and Li Po naturally wanted to report these situations to Li Jifeng. However, Li Jifeng didn't seem to agree with either of these views, and he didn't even comment too much on them. The three words "unreliable" summed it up.
Li Naike was not a quiet and obedient person. Hearing this, he immediately asked: "Father, do you have other opinions on the Haihan people's statement? Can you give me some advice?"
Li Jifeng glanced at Li Nai and said in a deep voice: "Have you lost your mind?"
Li Nai responded: "My child has his own opinions on this."
"Tell me and have a listen."
"That kid just said a few nonsense." Li Nai paused and then explained: "Haihan would give our family some advice beforehand every time he held this investment promotion event in the past few years, but this time there was no news at all. None, why? Haihan's actions in Qiongxi and Zhennangang are no secrets. If these two areas are really to be used as the next development area, Haihan has no reason to keep it secret from us. Either the Haihan people didn’t prepare any surprise announcement at all, or the selected development area was not what the outside world expected!”
When Li Nai said this, he stopped to watch Li Jifeng's reaction. Li Jifeng responded calmly: "Go on."
"I thought about the recent chaos on Qiongzhou Island. Many cities in Qiongbei were captured by pirates, and even the capital of Qiongzhou was besieged. If the Haihan Civilian Army had not been dispatched in time, the situation in Qiongbei would have been really precarious... ”
"Tell me the important point!" Li Jifeng interrupted impatiently.
"Yes!" Li Nai responded: "I heard that all the government offices in Qiongbei were destroyed by pirates, so all the cities are currently under the temporary trusteeship of Haihan, even the Fucheng. In other words, Qiongzhou Island is now It is basically under the control of the Haihan people. Will the Haihan people spit out the meat and return it to the Ming Dynasty? ”
"No ships have left Qiongzhou this month. According to Haihan, the sea is closed off the coast of Qiongzhou Island to prevent the pirates hiding on the island from escaping. I think there may be something fishy about it!" Li Po interjected without losing the opportunity. "So you think that the Haihan people are going to take advantage of this opportunity to take control of Qiongzhou Island in their own hands?" Li Jifeng asked rhetorically.
Li Nai and Li Po looked at each other and nodded affirmatively. Li Nai added: "As early as more than two months ago, when the pirates had not yet landed on Qiongzhou Island and were only harassing ships on the periphery, the Haihan people had already expressed their position to the government that they would send their own militia troops to drive away the pirates, and purchased a large amount of them in Guangdong. War preparation materials. I heard that the day after the Governor ordered Haihan to dispatch the militiamen, the militia fleet left the Victory Port. This was obviously a time when the Haihan people had been prepared to join the war. They would not be in vain. Helped Annan clean up the small court in the south, and in return got a lot of good places from the coast of Annan. This time he helped the Ming Dynasty expel the pirates. I am sure they will find a way to profit from it."
"Haihan tried his best to seize things that the Ming Dynasty couldn't provide. They have done this many times on Qiongzhou Island. If our predictions are correct, Qiongzhou Island will soon change its surname!" Li Po added. Although they were talking about the gains and losses of the Ming Dynasty, there was not much disappointment or sadness on Li Po's face.
"Although what you said is not entirely accurate, it is not far off." After listening to the statements of his two sons, Li Jifeng finally expressed his opinion: "My father got the news a few days ago that Haihan's militia army stationed in Annan has been stationed in Annan for two months. There were also major mobilizations before, and almost all the ships in northern Annan were requisitioned. ”
"Are you going to fight pirates?" Li Po asked.
Li Jifeng shook his head and said: "It's not that simple! Haihan later regained Qiongbei. It is said that he landed from the eastern front and drove the pirates all the way west until he regained the whole territory. If Annan sent help, it would be in Danzhou, the nearest Qiongxi A landfall and pincer attack is the only way to leave a huge gap for the pirates to evacuate Qiongzhou Island? With the strength of the Haihan Militia at sea, how can they let these prodigal dogs go?"
Li Nai reacted very quickly and said immediately: "Father, you mean Haihan people..."
"Silence!" Li Jifeng didn't let Li Nai finish what he said, so he immediately interrupted him: "There are some things that you just have to know in your mind, and you must not say them out at will. My father told you not to discuss this outside. At the shareholders' meeting, I was worried that your wrong words would be overheard by people with intentions. Although the relationship between the Li family and Haihan is good, it does not mean that we can do whatever we want. The people of Haihan have great intentions. You know, don’t offend them because of some trivial matters, lest my Li family have nowhere to stand in the future!”
Li Po and Li Nai felt chilled in their hearts and nodded in agreement. If this huge change in Qiongbei is really planned by the Haihan people, then this move is really too big. But only the powerful Haihan people can do such a bold thing. And if the truth about this matter is leaked, I am afraid that Ming Dynasty will immediately declare war on the Haihan people on Qiongzhou Island.
Although this kind of declaration of war will not cause actual trouble to the Haihan people for a while, after all, the Haihan people have a powerful force that is no less powerful than the Ming Dynasty official army. But for a trading partner like "Fu Ruifeng" that cooperates closely with Haihan, it is tantamount to a disaster. When the time comes, the government will accuse the Li family of "collaborating with the enemy." There is probably no chance of turning around.
If Li Jifeng's guess is true, then the best thing for the Li family to do now is to pray that the Guangdong government discovers the truth of this matter as late as possible. Although I don’t know what the Haihan people plan to do, since they have such a big plan, they must have made corresponding preparations for the aftermath. Li Jifeng can only bet on this possibility now and wait for Haihan to take over. The means that will be used next.
Li Jifeng's two sons were not as calm as he was. The two emotions of fear and excitement were mixed together in their hearts, with some indescribable taste. Especially Li Nai, who had a close relationship with Haihan, felt even more complicated.
When Li Nai first went to Port Victory three years ago, he was already aware of the hidden ambitions of these outsiders. When he and Ning Qi exchanged views at that time, he could clearly feel that the other party did not maintain enough respect for Ming like other foreigners, but more like a condescending perspective.
Although Li Nai was a little unhappy with Ning Qi's attitude at the time, it didn't take long for him to realize that the Haihan people's sense of superiority was not groundless, but was backed by terrifying strength. The Haihan people constantly demonstrated their omnipotence in almost all aspects, turning Yulin Port, which had been abandoned for many years, into the most prosperous trading port on Qiongzhou Island in a very short period of time, and expanding outward at an alarming rate. To expand their influence, they quietly evacuated the Yacheng government and annexed a large area near Victory Port without spending a single soldier or bomb.
As the cooperation between the two sides in trade and other affairs deepened, Li Nai's understanding of Haihan became more and more profound. He knew that this group of overseas visitors would not be satisfied with being rich men in the ends of the earth, but had more ambitious, or more terrifying ambitions.
The army trained by the Haihan people, the weapons made, and the warships built were all much more powerful than the Ming army that Li Nai knew. And if they just wanted to protect their own industry, there was obviously no need to establish such a powerful army. . Although the Haihan people have always been under the banner of peaceful development, Li Nai knew that their ultimate purpose of raising such a powerful army was to start a war.
When the Haihan people sent the militia to Annan to participate in the war, Li Nai was still thinking that the Haihan people would probably put their future expansion direction on the other side of the sea. However, there seems to be a certain deviation in this judgment. The Haihan militia retreated to Qiongzhou Island after the Annan Civil War ended, but Haihan continued to expand northward from the east and west coastlines of Qiongzhou Island at a steady pace. Controlling the entire Qiongzhou Island is probably just a matter of time.
However, the pirate invasion some time ago seems to have accelerated this process in disguise. The Haihan Militia appeared in Qiongbei in the image of a savior. They marched all the way and drove away the invaders, and successfully became the new people in power in Qiongbei. This sudden change It was indeed beyond Li Nai's expectations.
(End of chapter)