Chapter 1768: Interest comes first
With Haihan's current grain reserves and production capacity, it is enough to feed tens of thousands more people on Hainan Island. The problems of food and employment that will be caused by the population explosion do not exist in Haihan State at this stage. For Haihan, with the development process of industrialization, there has always been a huge gap in the country's demand for labor, and the recruitment of foreign immigrants has never stopped. Even if there are 100,000 or 80,000 immigrants, the Executive Committee You can never have too much.
Immigrants from the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty and the war-torn areas of Northern Xinjiang have been the focus of Haihan's immigration recruitment work in recent years. If Hou Jin wanted to launch a war against North Korea, Haihan would be happy to have another source of population import. At least compared to the foreign slaves trafficked to Haihan by slave traders from southern Europe, East Africa, Central Asia, the Indian Peninsula and other places, North Korea is relatively close to China in terms of cultural traditions and racial appearance, and it is easier to adapt and integrate into the living environment after being introduced into the country. It will be easier.
However, even if it seems that the deterioration of the situation in North Korea will be of some benefit to Haihan, the military does not dare to really sit back and ignore it, because the food production in the Jinzhou area has not yet fully recovered, and logistical support still depends on North Korea to a certain extent. Food, medicine, cloth and other survival supplies. It is impossible to say that Hou Jin has realized this, so he is likely to give up taking back Jinzhou and instead target the soft persimmon North Korea.
"Let's see the excitement first. If Hou Jin really takes action against North Korea, then we can only make a fuss here in Jinzhou to attract some troops for North Korea." Yan Chujie has no better solution to the situation in Liaodong for the time being. Now the main force They are all in the south, and it will be at least a month or two before they can reach Liaodong. At this stage, they can only rely on the garrisons in Jinzhou and Dengzhou to cope with the changes in the situation in the Northeast.
"You see, this is the disadvantage of not having enough troops. We can't seize such a good opportunity." Yan Chujie did not forget to seize this opportunity to give others a heads up: "If North Korea survives this period, maybe The attitude will change. Then we may not have such good conditions if we want to station troops.”
"The problem is that there is no money! The military budget is only so much every year. If your military wants new bases, new equipment, and wants to expand the army, it can only go to Schneider for money first." Ning Qi saw through it at a glance. Yan Chujie's old trick was to kick the ball out immediately.
But Schneider is not here right now. Halfway through today's dinner, he was invited away by Qiong Lianfa's shareholders. It is said that several major shareholders of Qiong Lianfa were also interested in increasing their investment in the north and wanted to gain the support of Haihan's senior management in terms of policies, so they invited Schneider outside to make a private calculation.
Of course, not just any company can enjoy this kind of private meeting with senior officials of Haihan. Only interest groups like Qiong Lianfa, which are deeply entangled with Haihan, are qualified to invite Schneider out to negotiate terms in private.
When Qiong Lian Fat was established in Hong Kong in 1630, it was officially led by Haihan, and Haihan himself was one of the major shareholders who initially joined. In the early days, this commercial organization only focused on development projects on Qiongzhou Island. However, because Haihan officially participated in Qionglianfa's business operations, this commercial organization also fully enjoyed the dividends brought by Haihan's rapid expansion and grew into One of the biggest commercial giants in the South China Sea.
Qiong Lianfa, who has an official background, will naturally not limit his business scope to Qiongzhou Island. Haihan has been fighting in the south and north in these years. Qiong Lianfa will almost always follow the military's footsteps and enter the new colony as soon as possible, taking advantage of it. Check out some local infrastructure projects and good locations.
However, almost all the shareholders of Qiong Lianfa are from the Nanhai area, and the Mingren shareholders are mainly from Fuzhou and Guangzhou. Even if the investment and management direction is led by the Haihan official, taking into account the feelings of shareholders, it has always been They all regard the South China Sea area as their main business scope. Although Haihan's industries in the north also have investment from Qiong Lianfa, they are not as dominant as in the south.
Of course, there is another reason for doing this that is not humane to outsiders, that is, Haihan officials must also take into account the interests of local wealthy families. If all the fat is given to southern business groups like Qiong Lianfa, local businessmen will only Drinking soup would definitely cause a lot of dissatisfaction, which would be detrimental to Haihan's goal of opening up trade routes. Therefore, most of the industries operated by Haihan in the area north of the Fujian Strait involve local wealthy businessmen or people with government backgrounds to participate in cooperative operations, while Qiong Lianfa is very low-key and only invests in certain projects that are sure to make a profit. China Investment serves as a behind-the-scenes shareholder.
But Zhejiang and Shandong are fine. After all, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Haihan officials chose to cooperate with local businessmen, which is also a very reasonable move in the eyes of Qiong Lianfa's shareholders. But Liaodong can be regarded as a territory occupied by Hou Jin, but there is no suggestion of local power. Now that it has been snatched away by the Haihan faction, this market must not be given to others in vain.
Qiong Lianfa had already had some investment projects in Jinzhou before this, but the local situation was not stable and shareholders did not dare to place heavy bets there, so they have been waiting and watching the situation. After the Haihan Army captured the natural moat of the Jinzhou Isthmus last spring, it formed a long-term confrontation with the Hou Jin Army there. Then the two sides maintained this balance in a tacit understanding, and there was no major war during this year. break out.
Haihan took advantage of this year to gradually move more than 30,000 soldiers and civilians from Dongjiang Town of the Ming Dynasty from Pidao and other places to Jinzhou for resettlement, and began to restore social production there. Now that the period of weak defense that worries the southern merchants the most is about to end, Houjin seems to have no intention of fighting Haihan in the Jinzhou Isthmus, so the merchants are determined to increase investment in the Liaodong region this year, and This will definitely require the approval and support from Haihan’s senior management.
"Mr. Shi, all of us here today are our own people. Could you please tell me what the regulations are for Liaodong this year? Can we invest money there?"
In the banquet hall of a house on the outskirts of Sanya, a large group of businessmen were sitting around Schneider, consulting him on the Haihan Department of Commerce's strategy in the Liaodong region. If Qiong Lianfa wants to operate a larger-scale industry in Liaodong, it must first get clear instructions from the Ministry of Commerce.
Schneider said calmly: "I understand everyone's urgency, but what I want to say is that investing in Liaodong is risky. The war between our country and Houjin is not over, and it will resume at any time. When the war begins, Jinzhou will be the frontline. If you plan to increase investment in Liaodong, I personally support it, but I hope you must consider your ability to bear risks.”
"Thank you, Mr. Shi, for reminding me! However, there are definitely risks in making money, and we naturally understand that, but as long as the profits are huge enough, the risk is worth it." The first person to express his position was Li Nai, who attended on behalf of Fulifeng. At that moment, several people agreed with him It seems that everyone is waiting for Schneider's words. Why are these people so active in investing in Liaodong? Schneider's mind is naturally clear. In the past year, ginseng, velvet antlers, fur and other specialties returned from Jinzhou were all in high demand in the Haihan market, with prices soaring again and again. The purchase price at the place of origin has soared more than ten times, and the profits from selling these goods are enough for businessmen to actively ignore the possibility of another war breaking out locally. Out of their profit-seeking nature, these businessmen will naturally try to increase the scale of their local operations so that they can traffic more Liaodong specialties to the south and sell them for huge profits.
The small calculations of businessmen are actually normal, and Schneider did not intend to set too high a threshold for them, but there are some things that he must bring up on this occasion today, which can be regarded as a warning to these eager businessmen.
"Whether you want to use the name of Qiong Lianfa or prepare to do business locally on your own, I have one more thing to remind you. Don't ignore the ban for the sake of profit and do smuggling business with Houjin!" Schneider Looking around the hall, everyone said: "There is no humane thing to say about this. Anyone who violates this will be punished as being an enemy. Remember, everyone!"
The area Haihan occupied in Liaodong was only the southwest corner of the Liaodong Peninsula. The geographical area was extremely limited. No matter how rich the products were, those high-value specialties could not withstand the plundering of these merchants, let alone satisfy the huge demand in the southern market. . What Schneider is worried about is that someone will take risks for profit and transfer the smuggling business to Houjin. Although the possibility of this happening is unlikely, Schneider must keep the scandal in front of him and not leave any opportunity for these businessmen to take advantage of the loopholes.
As soon as this statement came out, the expression on someone's face changed. Wang Qin, a merchant from Huizhou, said: "Mr. Shi, it's not the same as who is buying it? When we do business, we either barter military supplies or simply trade money. After Jin takes the money, there is nowhere to go." Buy weapons and fight against our Haihan army!”
Schneider smiled and said: "I knew that some of you would definitely have this idea. Supporting the enemy does not count only by providing military supplies to the enemy. As long as you make transactions with the enemy and have a benefit transfer relationship, you will be counted as sponsoring the enemy."
Wang Qin said: "But if this happens, there won't be much business in the area! Grain can only be harvested once a year there. We can't go so far to farm and reclaim wasteland, right?"
The current main food crops in Liaodong are wheat and rice, and Haihan began to introduce local corn after entering the area. The cash crops are even more limited, with only soybeans and sugar beets, which are far less than the wide variety of plantations in the south. business projects. As for the Haihan occupied area south of the Jinzhou Isthmus, almost half of the area is made up of mountains and hills that are not suitable for large-scale agricultural development, and a considerable part of the cultivated land is used to resettle immigrants from Dongjiang Town. It is difficult to resemble a southern colony. Plantation projects will also be promoted on a large scale. Qiong Lianfa has not made large-scale investments locally before, and environmental restrictions are also one of the reasons.
The profits from operating agricultural projects are very limited. Instead of investing in distant Liaodong, it is better to invest funds in the South China Sea with obvious results. Now we have finally found new business opportunities, but Haihan officials have imposed strict restrictions on this, which is undoubtedly a huge blow to the enthusiasm of businessmen.
Zhan Gui, the owner of Zhan's Ship Shop, said: "Mr. Shi, if you can liberalize the smuggling trade with Houjin, it will actually be a good intelligence channel! And it is said that Houjin still has a primitive tribal system, so the internal affairs are definitely not monolithic. , we can gradually divide them through trade. There are some problems that are difficult to solve on the battlefield, but maybe we can try to find answers in other ways.”
Zhan Gui's statement is undoubtedly more innovative than Wang Qin's complaint. After hearing this, Schneider also expressed his appreciation for his idea: "The possibility that Boss Zhan said is indeed possible, and we have not considered implementing it." . But what the Executive Committee wants is to defeat Hou Jin militarily and completely destroy Hou Jin's regime politically, rather than slowly dividing Hou Jin's internal affairs through economic means."
"But we only deployed a few thousand troops in Liaodong. It's enough to win the war, but it's not enough to conquer a country with this force!" Li Nai's understanding of military affairs is far better than that of others present. People, of course, even questioned the goals of the Executive Committee. Of course, he should be the only one among the shareholders present who dares to doubt the authority of the executive committee.
In terms of the area that Jin currently controls in Liaodong, it is indeed difficult to achieve the goal of destroying the country with Haihan's small force. Even if they can advance northward with their super combat effectiveness, more than half of these thousands of people may have to be deployed on the march route to ensure logistical supplies before they can reach Shengjing City, let alone occupy the entire Northeast region. . The Haihan Army has been guarding the Jinzhou Isthmus and has not continued to launch an offensive to the north. A large part of the reason is that its forces are limited and it is not sure to control a larger control area.
Schneider's statement can scare ordinary people, but Li Nai knows a lot about Haihan's military strategy, so he naturally does not believe that the Executive Committee can set such a goal. In his opinion, this is more like Schneider's rhetoric to make everyone dispel their restless thoughts.
Schneider was not angry because of Li Nai's doubts. He actually admired Li Nai, because only people with Chinese thinking would think of this level. But Schneider still couldn't let go of the businessmen's request for free operating rights in trade.
"Then let me be more straightforward." Schneider decided not to talk in circles with them anymore, and directly showed his trump card: "Not only you, but even businessmen from Ming Dynasty, North Korea or other countries can't even think of establishing a maritime alliance with Hou Jin. Trade channel. The navy spent two years clearing the Liaodong coastline to prevent Hou Jin Pianfan from leaving the sea, in order to completely block their access to the sea! This is a national policy and will not be changed due to the interests of Qiong Lianfa and everyone here! ”
(End of chapter)