Chapter 1012 Founding Celebration (12)
Compared with the simpler lunch arranged to save meal time, the dinner held after all the military parade activities was grand in scale. In order to be able to conveniently watch the evening fireworks display on the Yulin Peninsula, the relevant departments arranged the dinner venue at the naval base, eliminating the need to move the guests on a large scale. Because this is a military controlled area, there is no need to worry about stray people sneaking in. The dinner venue is located on a playground of the base.
The dinner adopts a dual mode of banquet and buffet. The top people are concentrated in the banquet area, while those businessmen who need to travel around for public relations exchanges, gourmets who like to taste various delicacies, and people who do not want to be bound by banquet etiquette , you can choose a richer buffet dining area and enjoy a more free dining environment. Although there were more than 800 guests attending the dinner, it did not seem crowded because the venue was well decorated.
However, for the rulers of Haihan, this dinner is not a time for them to settle down and enjoy it. This kind of occasion can be used to have informal contacts with envoys and representatives from various countries and exchange some personal opinions.
Bai Kesi, the head of Haihan Ordnance Industry, was surrounded by five or six foreign envoys, all of whom came to inquire about Haihan's arms export policy. No matter how good the product is, it is not as good as good advertising. The publicity effect achieved by today's two military parades is very obvious, attracting many interested new customers.
Faced with various questions raised by everyone, Bai Kesi had to adopt a more official way to respond uniformly: "As for the arrangements for arms exports, we will arrange a special weapon performance display in two days. The weapons on the export list will be put out for everyone to see clearly. Questions about technical parameters and usage training will also be answered by dedicated personnel.”
Someone asked: "As long as you pay, you can sell it no matter who you are?"
Baikes certainly understands the meaning of this question, and his response is more cautious: "In principle, we only sell standard arms in bulk to the official. If a private person wants to buy arms from us, then we will first confirm its legal use, and secondly, we will purchase it Limit the quantity and type of arms.”
Haihan has been engaged in the arms trade for so many years, and he is naturally very familiar with the various concerns that foreign officials have when purchasing arms. For these potential buyers, what they consider most is not the price of arms, but the security issue at a higher level. Since Haihan sells these arms and equipment to the public, it means that anyone can buy these weapons as long as they are willing to pay. If the domestic opposition or other people who intend to cause chaos purchase Haihan arms in large quantities, then it is extremely possible could threaten the current rulers.
The answer given by Bai Kesi was also to reassure these envoys. Of course, the specific operation and how to limit the sales targets still need to be discussed slowly by both parties. Having said that, if Haihan Anxin wants to support the opposition in his country, a piece of paper will certainly not have much restrictive effect. Haihan will have other ways to export arms to the local area through unofficial channels - such as the recent The Portuguese, who had acted as arms brokers for Haihan for two or three years, were very suitable for such a shady job.
As for selling arms to private individuals, Haihan's control is indeed relatively strict. Most of the so-called private armed forces are organizations similar to the "Golden Shield Escort" under Guangdong Li Jifeng, which Haihan has certain monitoring and command rights. Although such control measures still cannot completely prevent the flow of weapons from civilian channels, at least there will be no major chaos. On the contrary, some of the large quantities of arms sold to the Ming Dynasty, Fujian and Guangzhou provinces and the Annan military will more or less flow into private hands. However, most of the arms are destined for the country's military and political dignitaries. Even if Haihan knows, I also pretend to be deaf most of the time.
Of course, the ordnance industry department also foresees that there will be a wave of arms sales peak during this founding celebration, so it has made some targeted preparations for this. In addition to the weapons and equipment demonstrations at the military parade, a full day of performance demonstrations has also been specially prepared for interested customers, as well as a complete package of arms sales, skills training, military assistance and other packages. Countries that are willing can even directly Discuss forming a military alliance with Haihan.
At this time, Schneider was surrounded by a large group of businessmen. This year, Haihan’s development plans for Amborna Island and Xingdao, two key areas in the South China Sea, had been released official information before. Those who smelled business opportunities Naturally, they would not let go of this opportunity to make a fortune, and asked Schneider about the specific situation.
"I personally suggest that you invest in Ambona Island first, because the infrastructure here is better, so that the projects you invest can get returns in a shorter time. In addition, Ambona Island will be developed in the future. The projects are mainly focused on leisure and entertainment. The industries you choose to invest in will also have the opportunity to enjoy it yourself in the future." Holding a wine glass in his hand, Schneider talked to everyone: "As for Xingdao... I can only do that at the moment. Let me tell you, the return on investment will not be too fast, but the long-term benefits will be considerable. When I say long-term, I am not talking about a span of ten or twenty years, but five times, ten times, or even longer.”
Someone asked: "Chief Shi, I heard that Star Island is thousands of miles away from Sanya, and there are not even Nanyang natives on the island. For such a deserted island, what kind of projects should be run to make a profit?"
Schneider said: "It is true that the island is a deserted island, but the reason why it is deserted is not because the place is too remote, but because the surrounding countries regard it as a battleground, and wars continue, so it becomes deserted. Of course, after I, Haihan, set foot on Star Island, wars will no longer break out frequently. As for why this place attracts competition from various countries, interested friends can check the map to see where this place is located. Of course. I understand. As for profit... I think the problem is not how to make profits, but how to make more profits. But this requires everyone to brainstorm and work together.”
Schneider deliberately only spoke half of the story, just to leave a little suspense for these curious businessmen to find out the news on their own. Relying on their understanding of the world's geographical conditions and the development trend of international trade a few centuries later, the time travelers have long determined to control some maritime chokepoints. However, not everyone can understand this forward-thinking vision, especially Ming merchants who were not familiar with the geography of the South China Sea found it difficult to understand why the Haihan people went all the way to occupy a desert island thousands of miles away and planned to invest resources in its construction and development.
Apart from the Western colonists from Portugal and the Netherlands, those who can really understand the intentions of the Haihan people are probably only a few countries around the Strait of Malacca. However, Haihan has already stationed an established army locally. If other countries want to seize the island, they must first consider whether they can defeat the Haihan people.
However, Schneider is very aware of the profit-seeking psychology of businessmen. As long as they realize the importance of Xingdao's geographical location, they will naturally think of Haihan's purpose of traveling thousands of miles south to seize the island. There will definitely be people who are willing to take the initiative to invest money. . At another banquet table, Tao Donglai was accompanied by Dong Yanyun and Xiong Xin, who came to attend the celebration on behalf of Fuzhou and Guangzhou provinces. Although Fuguang officials did not attend the celebration in order to avoid suspicion, privately they sent representatives as a comfort measure. Haihan knew very well the mentality of the top officials of the two provinces. Anyway, the purpose of both sides was to maintain the current peaceful situation. On the surface, it was not a big deal to temporarily suspend official exchanges. Haihan has been dealing with the local government of Ming Dynasty for several years, and there is still this level of tacit understanding.
Dong Yanyun and Xiong Xin came respectively on behalf of two local officials, Xu Xinsu from Fujian and Xiong Wencan from Guangdong and Guangxi. Haihan still gave them the courtesy they deserved according to their status as VIPs. After arriving in Sanya, these two people did not hide their whereabouts and stayed behind closed doors. They also attended the events that were required to appear as usual. Haihan officials were quite satisfied with their attitude. Of course, Haihan also knew that the governments of the two places were not so reassured about the future development of the situation, so they specially sent envoys to attend the celebration to confirm whether Haihan would change his diplomatic strategy.
"With all due respect, Master Xiong's worries are a bit unnecessary." Tao Donglai smiled and said: "We, Haihan Kingdom, have always had good relations with the Ming Dynasty. The business we invested in Guangdong alone would have cost at least several million taels of silver. If Haihan had The relationship between Han Dynasty and Ming Dynasty has undergone a bad change, so isn’t it us Haihan who will be the first to suffer?”
Xiong Xin repeatedly said yes, but he still felt that something was wrong. Although the Haihan people have many industries in Guangdong, most of them are concentrated on the territory they control, and they are often guarded by armed personnel. The local government has no jurisdiction over them.
Not to mention places like Hong Kong Island and Panyu County, the Haihan office in Guangdong was originally located on a small piece of land surrounded by the Pearl River not far from Guangzhou. It is now built like a city outside the city. The Sanjin Mansion that I first bought has been expanded into a manor covering an area of more than 300 acres. High-walled watchtowers and trenches have been built around it that stretch all the way to the river. The level of defenses is definitely far beyond that of an ordinary private manor. Some level. Not only that, the headquarters of Golden Shield Escort is also located locally, with hundreds of armed personnel stationed all year round, and all of them are equipped with weapons made by Haihan.
The reasons for the Haihan people are also very good. These armed personnel not only have to protect the safety of the Guangdong Office, but also the safety of the Guangdong Headquarters of Haihan Bank, which is also located here. There is too much gold and silver stored there, and it must be strictly guarded and prevented. There are thieves on my mind. For such a reason, the government naturally couldn't criticize him. After all, most of the officials' property was stored there, so they really couldn't be tough.
This office in Guangzhou is like a lawless place outside Guangzhou city. Guangzhou government can only pretend to be deaf and dumb to what is happening inside. If Haihan and Ming had a falling out, would the government dare to raid the Guangdong Office? Can the Haihan people be captured without hesitation? If we really want to work with the Garrison Office in Guangzhou, the reinforcements from Panyu County can arrive within two hours, and the warships from Hong Kong Island can arrive outside Guangzhou in just one day. Although Tao Donglai's words were beautiful, he still couldn't tell who would suffer the greater loss at that time.
Before Xiong Xin could figure out the mystery, Tao Donglai turned to Dong Yanyun and said: "Master Xu has cooperated with us for so many years, and the relationship between the two parties has always been very harmonious. The matter of Haihan's founding of the country will not If it affects our relationship with Mr. Xu, we will not unilaterally change the previous cooperative relationship and conditions in the future. The peaceful situation in the Fujian Strait is very important to us in Haihan, and we also need Mr. Xu’s attitude very much. An honest partner. We will start opening up the northern route this year, and we will need a lot of care from adults.”
Dong Yanyun said: "Is it possible that your country is planning to continue heading north to the Denglai area?"
Tao Donglai avoided answering and changed the topic: "This year's development of Taiwan Island still requires a lot of immigrants. I hope that after Mr. Dong returns, he can convey our needs to Mr. Xu and help organize immigration."
Dong Yanyun responded quickly, thinking that saying goodbye might be troublesome, but immigration was not difficult. In the past year, the civil strife in the Ming Dynasty has continued, and the peasant army has been attacking in all directions. Except for the coastal areas, which were not directly affected, a large number of refugees have appeared in other places, many of whom have chosen to flee to the coast to avoid the war. Although Fujian is a bit remote, thousands of refugees still poured in from Jiangxi. These refugees are a complete burden to the government, but they can be somewhat rewarding if left to the Haihan people.
However, Tao Donglai mentioned the development of Taiwan Island again, which made Dong Yanyun a little alarmed. He was not worried about what the Haihan people were doing on Taiwan Island, but he was worried that he would miss out on this market trend again. When Haihan entered Taiwan in 1632, the Fujian side was taking one step at a time, being overtaken by their counterparts in Guangdong, and almost didn't even get to drink the soup.
At that moment, Dong Yanyun asked: "Can Chief Tao reveal any new projects on Taiwan Island?"
Tao Donglai was also vague about this question and did not answer directly. He only said that he would know when the time comes. Dong Yanyun wanted to continue questioning, but Tao Donglai invited them to move to watch the fireworks show that was about to start.
For this fireworks display, Haihan specially invited fireworks craftsmen to Sanya more than half a year in advance. The military industry department also provided a variety of gunpowder to create a batch of fireworks specifically for this celebration. Compared with the fireworks of the same era, these Haihan-made fireworks fly higher, explode louder, and burn brighter. They are definitely not seen anywhere else. Those who can watch this fireworks show in Sanya are very lucky.
(End of chapter)