Chapter 1606 Hidden Information
Private scientific research institutions such as the Danzhou Haifeng Poetry Society were actually not limited to this place under the rule of Haihan. However, the government has never opened up restrictions on private scientific research, so it is carried out secretly. The officials are not ignorant of these trends. For example, Zhang Xin turned a blind eye to the behavior of the Haifeng Poetry Society. As long as it did not involve military or sophisticated technology, he allowed Zhang Jinbao to do whatever he wanted. Tossed. If it can really create some fame, it will be too late for the government to control or acquire it.
In fact, for time-travelers, no matter what kind of results researched by civilian scientists in this era, it is difficult for them to be beyond the control of time-travelers. After all, what they have in their hands will not appear until several centuries later. Black technology, but it is impossible for scholars of this era to obtain research results that transcend the times. However, some real talents occasionally emerge among them, and perhaps their talents can be used by the authorities.
The Executive Committee spread the news through the official media channel Haihan Times, which can be regarded as opening up an opportunity for private scientific research. However, the Executive Committee is not very optimistic about Li Nai's investment in Haifeng Poetry Society. The real good things are all in the hands of the government. It is not that easy for the private sector to develop some advanced things on their own to earn profits. It's just that Furifeng has a lot of money and has always cooperated closely with Haihan officials. Li Nai is willing to pay for it, so the executive committee will let him go. The Haifeng Poetry Society, which Xun Pengcheng, Zhang Jinbao and others regard as the future and destiny, is actually regarded by the officials as just a small attempt, and it does not matter whether it is approved or not.
Li Nai was already in Haikou City when he saw this newspaper. The purpose of his coming here was to deliver a batch of cotton yarn and medicinal materials with Haikou Mayor Qiu Yuan. The reason why he wanted to come over in person to complete this transaction was not because the transaction amount was astonishing, but because this batch of goods was purchased according to Haihan military standards. Although Haihan did not clearly state its purpose, those who have dealt with Haihan for a long time However, Li Nai knew that most of these things were to be supplied to the Haihan Army.
There is a factory in Haikou that specializes in the production of medical gauze, alcohol and external hemostatic drugs. In addition to the fact that alcohol is produced locally in Hainan Island, the raw materials for gauze and drugs still mainly rely on Daming. Orders executed in accordance with military standards are generally handed over to Furifeng, the agency most trusted by Haihan officials. Li Nai knew that the destination of this batch of goods must be the factory in Haikou, and he went to complete the transaction in person, not wanting any problems to arise in the last step. And Li Nai also knew that Haihan usually ordered large quantities of such goods to prepare for the next large-scale military operation, but this time it was not clear which direction Haihan wanted to take action.
Li Nai indeed knew about the trends in the newspapers in advance. When he was in Sanya, he had already heard from senior officials of Haihan that the Executive Committee would relax the ban on this field, but he was not entirely sure. In order to make money or attract talents, invest in Danzhou Haifeng Poetry Society. Since the official intends to open up this gap, someone must take the lead and act as a trailblazer, and this role is most suitable for Fulifeng to play. He has both official trust and sufficient funds to operate, even if he does not succeed in the end. Making money or even losing money can be used to show Furifeng's respectful attitude, and the money is considered well spent.
The acquisition in Budanzhou has just spent the money, and most of the money has been made back in one transaction in Haikou. Li Nai remembered that the last time Haihan purchased these materials on a large scale through Furifeng was before the launch of military operations in Liaodong this year. He really wanted to ask Qiu Yuan face to face where Haihan was going to take action next, but when he met Qiu Yuan several times, he would be followed by people from the military and the Ministry of Security. His words really didn't make sense. Dare to ask for an exit.
Until Li Nai was about to leave Haikou and hosted a banquet for Qiu Yuan before leaving, the two people who followed him around were finally gone. Li Nai seized this opportunity and asked Qiu Yuan about his doubts.
After hearing this, Qiu Yuan responded with a smile: "Since you know that this matter involves military intelligence, how could I disclose it casually? If I can't keep my mouth shut, Minister Yan will not let me off lightly if he finds out in the future."
The more Qiu Yuan kept his mouth shut, the more Li Nai felt itchy and unbearable, so he tried to persuade: "Chief, how about you give me some direction and I'll think about it myself. Doesn't this count as you revealing information?"
Qiu Yuan was silent for a long time before responding: "Have you read this issue of Haihan Times?"
"I saw it!" Li Nai recalled what he had seen before, but there seemed to be no official military news. He shook his head and said, "But I didn't notice that the Ministry of National Defense had released any news."
Qiu Yuan smiled and said: "That means you didn't read carefully enough. Let's take a closer look later. The news you want to know is all in the newspaper!"
After the banquet, Li Nai took a car back to his residence, asked someone to get hot water, wiped his face well, and then ordered a pot of strong tea to relieve the hangover. He did not want to just sleep, but quickly opened the latest issue of Haihan Times that he bought the day before yesterday to see where the news Qiu Yuan mentioned was hidden.
The front page headline of this issue of the newspaper is indeed a military-related report. The content is that the "Warrior" class steam sail warship jointly developed by the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Shipping has completed its 18th sea voyage and is also the last sea voyage before finalization and mass production. try. The content of the article mainly describes how the Navy and related departments overcame many difficulties to complete the design, manufacturing and improvement tasks of this new era warship. The light is constantly being adjusted to ensure that the combat performance truly meets the military's requirements.
Li Nai has some impressions of this new type of warship. During the "Crossover 1635" military exercise held in Danzhou last summer, the "Warrior" class warship made its debut, leaving a great impression on the military observation groups from various countries participating in the military exercise. Deeply impressed. However, the Haihan military also explained at that time that this was only an experimental warship, and it was extremely difficult to build and would not be officially commissioned in the short term.
Because Li Nai has an extremely close relationship with Haihan's senior officials, he knows a little more information than the outside world. Although this new type of warship has a higher combat effectiveness than the current flagship "Dignity" class warship in the navy, it is still The technology for building this kind of warship is immature and the cost is prohibitively high. Even the wealthy Haihan Navy can't afford it.
But now that the Haihan Times has published an article saying that this is the last sea trial of the "Warrior" class warship before it is finalized, it is basically certain that the Haihan military has decided to field this new type of warship in the near future. As for funding, Li Nai doesn't think this can stump the Haihan people who are good at making money. If the cost of building this new type of warship is really high enough that even the military thinks it is too expensive, then at most it will only build a few less ships temporarily until production capacity increases in the future. Let’s talk later.
But does this news hint at Haihan’s next move? Li Nai read the article over and over again, but still couldn't figure it out. This article talks about various problems that researchers have faced, but there is no mention of which fleet this new warship will be prioritized for installation in the future, or which port it will be deployed to. It seems that what he is interested in is not hidden in this report. Li Nai was not discouraged. Now that Qiu Yuan had pointed the way, he believed that the other party would not deceive him about this kind of thing. He continued to read the news in the newspaper, even the seemingly irrelevant news. Try to figure it out carefully, lest you miss any details.
Li Nai is not actually a military enthusiast, but he is very interested in Haihan's movements and likes to study the strategies of Haihan's senior officials. In particular, he was even more interested in collecting and researching information that the senior officials of Haihan were unwilling to reveal to him. If he could find the truth, it would be a great sense of accomplishment for him.
After flipping through the newspaper and reading it again, Li Nai finally found a report that seemed inconspicuous, but was somewhat thought-provoking upon careful reading.
The theme of this article is to talk about Haihan's current trading activities in the waters east and southeast of Hainan Island. Almost all of them are operated through Ming merchants as middlemen, and the ships used by Ming merchants have limited performance, so they are also This limits the scale of trade activities, which is far less prosperous than the trade activities between Haihan and the three directions of north, east and south. The main reason for this phenomenon is that the old grudges between the Spaniards and Haihan entrenched in Luzon Island have not been resolved.
The article does not provide a solution to this problem, but only calls on all sectors of society to pay attention to this issue, because it has affected Haihan's progress in opening trade routes in the South China Sea. Moreover, if the Haihan navigators want to explore the wider waters to the east, the route will inevitably need to pass near Luzon Island. However, the current situation in Luzon Island is not very friendly to the Haihan navigators.
"It turns out this is here." Li Nai thought that he had found the place that Qiu Yuan had hinted at. The place Haihan wanted to attack next was most likely Luzon Island.
The feud between Heihan and Spain can even be traced back to when the executive committee chose to cooperate with Portugal, and Heihan was not polite in his actions against Spain, the main maritime competitor.
In early 1633, the Haihan Army attacked two Spanish strongholds in Jilong and Tamsui in the northern part of Taiwan Island, completely expelling the Spanish from Taiwan Island and cutting off Spanish merchant ships' trade routes to the northern coast of the Ming Dynasty. In early 1634, the Spanish espionage case in Sanya was solved. The spy network that the Spaniards had painstakingly run in Haihan was uprooted, and almost no one was spared.
The Spanish's revenge was launched a year and a half later. A mixed fleet composed of the Manila fleet and the galleons from the Americas raided Sanya in September 1635. Unfortunately, they did not have enough understanding of Sanya's defense strength. , when trying to break into Victory Harbor, they were beaten to pieces by shore defense firepower, and were defeated before they even reached the shore. Then the Haihan Navy, which blocked the Spanish fleet's retreat, gave its opponents a lesson in naval warfare, making these Europeans realize how powerful the opponent they encountered in the Far East was.
Since this battle, the Manila authorities have been like silenced firecrackers and have never made any sound. However, in order to save face, the Spaniards still explicitly prohibited Haihan merchant ships and personnel from entering Manila Port, and only allowed Daming maritime merchants to conduct trade activities as intermediaries.
Haihan also counterattacked, stipulating that all goods shipped to the Port of Manila must first be transported to Sanya for formalities before setting off for Manila. Otherwise, they will be regarded as being against Haihan and will be confiscated if caught. All goods. As a result, the goods produced in the Ming Dynasty had to travel a large circle on the sea before going to Manila, and the freight cost had to increase several times. In the end, only the Spaniards were the ones to bear this price increase. .
The Spaniards will naturally not accept Haihan's trade sanctions calmly, but as the defeated party, it is difficult for them to come up with any strong countermeasures to fight back against Haihan, so the trade between the two sides has been at a low level. A very awkward state of stagnation. Of course, it is not that no one has tried to make peace with both sides, but the Haihan Executive Committee has a very clear attitude towards Spain and does not intend to reconcile with the other party.
As one of the leading large-scale merchants in Guangdong and Guangxi, Furifeng receives orders from the Spanish every year. Although Furifeng's largest trading partner is Haihan, this does not prevent it from doing business with other countries, let alone selling to the Spanish. All the goods have been approved by Haihan. Therefore, Li Nai knew a little bit about the trade conditions.
Since Haihan had already controlled the Pearl River Delta area, Spanish merchant ships did not dare to venture into this sea area and could only obtain the goods produced by the Ming Dynasty through purchasing agents. According to Haihan's regulations, the goods ordered by the Spaniards in Daming must first be sent to Sanya for registration and inspection. Therefore, these goods will first be transported by Furifeng's merchant ships to Sanya via the Pearl River Estuary, and then transported to Manila Port. The entire voyage is longer than the direct flight from Guangdong. Manila is twice as far away, and during the registration and inspection period in Sanya, you have to pay an administrative fee to Haihan. The costs here and outside are accumulated into the price, and the increase is considerable.
Furifeng has a monopoly on the output of certain high-end commodities in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, so the benefits obtained from it are quite generous. Even though the trade with the Spanish takes up a long shipping schedule, Furifeng still insists on sending out goods every month. At least two ships headed to Manila.
Only Furifeng's senior staff like Li Nai understood that the money was not earned in vain. In addition to transporting goods and people, Furifeng's merchant ships to Manila were also tasked with sending and receiving intelligence for Haihan. Almost every ship going to Manila will be accompanied by people from the Haihan Security Department. To this day, even Li Nai does not know how many people Haihan sent to sneak into Manila to act as spies.
(End of chapter)