Chapter 1010 Founding Celebration (10)
It is precisely because the navy has made great contributions in the expansion of Haihan that it has the opportunity to appear twice in the military parade of the founding celebration. Not only did he participate in the army parade in the morning, but there was also a separate navy parade in the afternoon. In terms of salary, it was actually better than that of the army, which made Wang Tom feel quite honored.
Originally, a phalanx of foreign troops was arranged in the military parade, but senior officials of the Ministry of National Defense gave up the idea after seeing the drills of foreign troops. In addition to the Annan army, which copied the Haihan military system in its entirety, it looked more presentable. The military's performance in the procession process is not even comparable to that of the Haihan militia. If it were to be staged in a military parade, it would really affect the overall impression. After the dignitaries from various countries watched the entire military parade on the viewing platform today, I believe they will have similar feelings.
The naval phalanx was the last unit to appear. The entire military parade took just over an hour, and it was already noon. Today's founding celebrations have come to an end here. However, people in the viewing area were still unwilling to disperse after hearing the news that the event was over. Many people were still very excited about the military parade they saw today.
"The prosperous age of Haihan is just around the corner!" A middle-aged man in a black silk robe in the front row of the viewing area exclaimed: "On the day of the founding of the country, all the countries in Southeast Asia came to worship. This kind of majesty can only be achieved by our country, Haihan." Enjoy! ”
After saying this, the middle-aged man turned his head and said to several young people next to him: "If you have the opportunity to study in Sanya, study hard. If you can serve in the imperial court in the future, it will be an honor for your family!"
One of the teenagers asked: "Chief Shan, can we really enroll in Sanya?"
"Of course. In two days, I will go to Victory Fort to see Chief Ning and apply to him in person." The middle-aged man known as the Chief is Zhang Jinbao, the head of Qiongxi Academy in Danzhou. Last time Ning Qi was in During his inspection in Danzhou, he visited the academy he ran and gave a relatively high evaluation of the teaching conditions of the academy. Zhang Jinbao is also a person with a relatively active mind. After the inspection team left, he thought about the rare opportunity and had to find a way to climb this high branch. After thinking about it, Zhang Jinbao decided to bring a group of his proud students to Sanya to participate in the celebration, and then looked for an opportunity to apply to Ning Qi for some places for further study.
Zhang Jinbao believes that Ning Qi is a high-ranking official who values talents. The students he brought here are all the best in the academy. However, limited to the level of teachers in the academy, the skills they can learn can at most enable them to find jobs as technicians at the grassroots level. , but if there is an opportunity to study in a professional institution in Sanya, then the future may be different. Zhang Jinbao’s plan is very clear. If these students can get the opportunity to further their studies, then they will sign employment contracts with them early. After completing their studies, they will return to the academy to work as teachers to improve the teaching level of the academy and do some work for the academy. Advertising increases awareness.
With Zhang Jinbao's level, he had not yet received an official invitation to sit at the high-end viewing platform opposite, so he could only bring his students to line up early to get a good seat in the front row. After watching the nearly two-hour celebration, Zhang Jinbao could not restrain his excitement. He was shouting and screaming with the students, so excited. Although Zhang Jinbao's main purpose of running the academy was to make money, after witnessing the prosperity and strength of Haihan with his own eyes, he also gained more confidence in the work he was doing. Originally, this time I just wanted to send a few students to Sanya for further study, but now I feel that if I can train students to become officials in the DPRK, it seems to be a good way out, and it may even be more useful to my own academy than training a few teachers.
The shortcomings of private educational institutions like Qiongxi Academy are firstly the teachers and secondly the background. Because of the different educational directions, very few people from Qiongxi Academy will get the opportunity to become officials through more orthodox methods such as taking the imperial examination. Orthodox educational institutions like Bailu Academy can brag about how many candidates and Jinshi they have produced in the past ten years. How many people work in Haihan's official institutions, but Qiongxi Academy does not have such capital. However, the last time Ning Qi came to inspect, Zhang Jinbao realized Haihan's desire for technical talents, and he could also become an official in Haihan's technical department. Working in this direction, even a private academy could There is hope of getting ahead.
After seeing the chief ministers and the guests on stage leaving the stage one after another, the excited people finally felt a little hungry. Most of them came to the viewing area early in the morning and queued up. After standing there for several hours, the crowd was already exhausted. Although there were vendors supplying snacks and drinks in various viewing areas, most people still watched the entire celebration hungry, and now they planned to find a place nearby for lunch.
However, so many people pouring into the Victory Port business district all at once will undoubtedly cause congestion. The organizers foresee such a situation and have prepared several temporary catering supply points near the port area in advance to provide food and beverages at cheap prices. People serve fast food. People who don’t have a lot of money in their pockets can choose to dine nearby and no longer need to go to restaurants in commercial districts to bear the higher dining costs. Of course, with such a large flow of people, don't expect there to be any tables and chairs. All customers can only hold bowls or wooden plates and squat in the open space to eat.
The guests on the viewing platform will not have such worries, Haihan officials have prepared a special dining area for them. After lunch, we will also take a boat across the Tiandu River estuary to the naval base on the east coast of Victory Port to visit the naval parade that will be held in the afternoon. For those countries that are relatively far away from Haihan and not bordering Haihan territory, the strength of the Haihan Army is not their primary concern. After all, the Haihan Army cannot spread its wings and fly to their country. The strength of Haihan Navy is the issue that these countries are most concerned about.
People like Zheng Zha, the young prince of Annan, and unofficial figures such as Xiong Xin and Dong Yanyun who attended on behalf of the Ming Dynasty were more concerned about what new products Haihan had in terms of surface armed ships that were included in the arms sales list. For these Haihan allies, the benefits of the expansion of Haihan's military strength outweigh the disadvantages. The arms and equipment they have been able to purchase from Haihan over the years have also relied on the Haihan Army's own equipment upgrades, and the debut of new equipment has often been in the past years. ’s military parade, this means that it is very likely that the Haihan Army will also replace its equipment on a large scale. Only in this case will Haihan Ordnance Industry open up the purchase qualifications for some "new arms" to foreign countries.
For businessmen from all over the world who come here to join in the fun, the short luncheon is also an excellent place for communication. If you seize this time to get to know more customers, you may be able to negotiate a few deals. Many businessmen ate something casually to cushion their stomachs, and then went around holding wine glasses to toast and build relationships.
Of course, the senior staff of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also very busy during this time. After watching the military parade in the morning, many guests gathered around when they heard that the Haihan military had a special military training program for foreign militaries. Ask about specific implementation methods and prices. For countries that lack advanced weapons manufacturing capabilities and do not have sufficient financial resources to purchase Haihan-style arms, improving the combat effectiveness of their existing armies through military training is probably a relatively cost-effective option.
Regarding the methods and methods of military assistance, Haihan has accumulated many years of successful operation experience, and there are successful precedents such as Daming, Annan, and Champa that can be used as reference for new customers. The persuasiveness is quite strong. As for whether the customer wants pure military training or a package deal including arms trade, this is not a big problem for Haihan.
Even if a customer only wants the simplest package with a starting price, the Ministry of National Defense has at least a hundred ways to make the customer obediently pay for arms. It doesn't matter if it's expensive. What's scary is that if you don't ask the price at all, as long as you ask the price, then don't think about getting rid of Haihan's military assistance easily. However, in order to negotiate a military deal, many details need to be communicated slowly in the follow-up, which is definitely not something that can be done in one meal. At present, the best we can do is communicate each other's wishes and see if we can reach an intention to cooperate first.
There were also many more cautious guests who did not rush to reveal their military needs to Haihan, because this would most likely expose their own shortcomings. However, they could only admit that they were inferior to the force displayed by Haihan in today's military parade. , in this situation of unequal military strength and average diplomatic relations, if the other party knows one's own shortcomings, the risk will be quite high. The arrangement for the luncheon dinner was relatively simple, and there was no big banquet. After the brief meal, the staff began to arrange for the guests to board the ship and go to the afternoon military parade location. The reason for changing the parade location to a naval base is not because the military is worried about the naval ships being exposed to the public. It is mainly because there are too many ships docked at Victory Port during the celebration and it is impossible to clear out a large enough area. To hold a maritime military parade, we can only go to a little trouble and build the stands on the military dock of the naval base.
Because of this, the afternoon military parade will no longer have a viewing area specifically provided for ordinary people. However, this problem is not difficult to solve. People who are interested in watching the naval parade can go to the port area across a bay from the naval base to watch. However, the distance is limited and the ships on the pier block the view. The impression will definitely not be as good as the one in the morning. The Army parade is so comfortable.
Zhang Jinbao made a special trip from Danzhou with seven or eight students. He paid for all the food, accommodation and transportation expenses along the way. It was already very painful, so naturally he would not take the students to eat in any restaurant at this juncture. restaurant. After the show ended, I found a stall selling fast food and bought a lunch for one yuan each for the students. Then I squatted on the roadside and ate it wholeheartedly, then urged everyone to finish their meal quickly and get on their way.
A student asked: "Chief, the military parade is over. The fireworks display has to wait until evening. Where are we rushing to?"
Zhang Jinbao said impatiently: "There will be a naval parade in the afternoon. Don't you want to go and see it?"
The student smiled bitterly and said: "Chief, I want to watch the military parade. When the parade ended just now, I went straight to the pier to get a seat. We are going there after dinner. Where can we get a good seat? I'm afraid we can't even see the top of the pier warehouse." The place is already full of people.”
What the student said is indeed true. When the military parade was over and the activities ended, many people who had been watching near the southern port area immediately went to take up positions on the pier. When the people in the viewing area left, the port area pier There are no front row seats over there. It's only passed now, so I can probably only look at the back of my head.
Zhang Jinbao laughed and scolded: "What you kid can think of, how can I, the commander, not think of it? I hired a boat yesterday and was waiting in the port area!"
The student still didn't believe it: "Captain, isn't the Victory Port closed to navigation today? Even if you hire a boat, you can't leave the port. Otherwise, if you are caught by the navy, won't you be punished as a spy?"
Zhang Jinbao said: "You kid... you are so stupid! Who said that if you hire a boat, you will go to sea? Can't I just park it at the dock after hiring a boat?"
Everyone's eyes suddenly lit up and they understood Zhang Jinbao's intention. Although the Haihan military has implemented a no-navigation order for the afternoon maritime parade, and all ships are not allowed to enter or exit the port before or after the military parade, these ships are parked at the pier, and it is not difficult to find a good location to watch the maritime parade. Some shrewd boat owners have secured a spot at the dock seven or eight days or more in advance, waiting for the day to come to sell the viewing seats on the boat. Zhang Jinbao had long thought that there would be so many people there that he might not be able to get a good seat at all, so he found a boatman at the dock in advance and paid a deposit to book a small boat.
When several students heard that there was a show, they immediately gulped down their lunch, then got up and followed Zhang Jinbao to the pier. Sure enough, when they arrived at the pier, there was already a sea of people here. If you were less than eight feet tall, you could really only look at the back of the head of the person in front of you. Almost all places where people go on the pier, whether it is the walls, roofs or containers, have been occupied by people who have arrived early. Only a few narrow passages leading to the pier are left to maintain order. The entrance and exit of the military police are also used to separate the crowd to avoid the danger of too many people crowded together.
The boss of the ship that Zhang Jinbao contacted had been waiting at the entrance. When he saw him leading the students, he said with relief: "Boss, if you don't show up again, my ship will have to be subcontracted to others. Just now there were four or five groups. People have asked, but I haven’t answered.”
Zhang Jinbao smiled and said: "The deposit was paid yesterday, how could I not come? Hurry up and lead the way!"
After the ship boss explained the situation to the military police on duty, he led Zhang Jinbao and his party onto the trestle from the passage. Only then did Zhang Jinbao realize that there were many people who had the same idea as him, and the decks of almost every ship were overcrowded.
(End of chapter)