Chapter 1904 Behind the Prosperity
Of course, it is impossible for Haihan Bank to open an office near the coastal defense fort. Such a huge advertising sign is really just to create a sense of presence. However, this kind of existence cannot be obtained with money. The Luhuitou Peninsula and the waterway entering and leaving Sanya Port are military controlled areas. To place advertisements here, you must first obtain a military license. This alone is enough to persuade them to quit. Most businessmen with ideas.
Li Ming certainly knew where the special status of Haihan Bank came from. In fact, starting from Zhoushan Island, every stop he stopped on his way south, even including Zhangzhou City in Fujian Province, which was still under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, could be traced back to Zhoushan Island. The signboard advertisement of Haihan Bank can be seen in a conspicuous place, which shows its great influence. Businessmen from various countries can safely deposit their money in Haihan Bank, and even transactions are settled through the bank. These advertisements also play a subtle role.
If Li Bo knew that North Korea was currently preparing to borrow money from Haihan Bank in the name of the state, he would definitely have a deeper impression of this Haihan financial institution. Haihan Bank's business targets are not only private individuals, but countries like North Korea will also become its customers when necessary.
However, North Korea is not the first country to borrow money from Haihan Bank in the name of the country. Most of the countries that purchased Haihan arms in large quantities in the early years had limited economic conditions. In addition to bartering and pledging population and land for payment, they also One solution is for Haihan Bank to provide special loans, that is, the funds can only be used to purchase arms from Haihan. However, North Korea is indeed the first country to apply for a loan because its national treasury is too empty to maintain the operation of state agencies.
"The signboard of your country's bank... is really majestic!" Li Bo hesitated for a moment before thinking of a more suitable adjective to praise what he saw in front of him.
Ning Qi responded: "Perhaps when the prince returns to China in the future, we will see similar signs in your country."
Li Ming thought that this possibility should not be "maybe", but "inevitable". Before he left Seoul, Haihan Bank's branch in Seoul had already opened for business. With the usual practice of Haihan people, it might have been already opened by this time. It’s time to find a suitable place to erect a signboard along the Han River. However, due to lack of relevant financial knowledge, it is difficult for Li Bo to make a clear judgment on whether this kind of financial institution's tentacles extending into North Korea will be good or bad for North Korea's future development.
With the private dock as a reference for comparison, after completing a circle and returning to the Sanya Port, Li Bo noticed that the officially operated port was indeed the busiest area in the entire port area. The ships docked at the dock were densely packed, tall and short. The complex masts look like a dense forest from a distance.
This is actually reasonable. The officially operated port is located next to the sea channel and at the intersection of two rivers. The location and environment are far from comparable to inland river terminals. Moreover, the official port has complete loading and unloading facilities, and its operating efficiency is far better than that of private docks that can only rely on manpower to load and unload cargo. The train station is next to the port, and transshipment is far more convenient than private docks. Of course, while enjoying these conveniences, you also need to pay more fees, so some businessmen still choose to complete cargo loading and unloading at private docks.
Thanks to the shipping department with many professional talents, Haihan's professionalism in port operations is also ahead of its time. While Western counterparts are still complacent about finding a natural harbor in East Asia, Haihan has developed and constructed more than ten large ports in just ten years, and most of them have entered the During the healthy operation stage, it plays the role of a regional sea trade hub and creates a lot of wealth for Haihan every year.
When he returned to the shore again, Li Pu noticed that almost all of the people doing heavy physical work on the dock were dark-skinned and topless foreign workers, while the foremen were mostly dressed as Han Chinese, so he asked Zhou Hengxing about it.
Zhou Hengxing explained: "The prince is really careful. In fact, these workers are migrant workers without Haihan nationality, and some are even slaves. They don't understand Chinese or Chinese characters, so they can't engage in more demanding technical jobs." , they can only be arranged to do these simple manual jobs. They can support themselves by selling their labor, and even get the opportunity to apply for Chinese citizenship.”
Haihan has been using a large number of migrant workers in ports, mines, plantations and other places over the years. This has become a customary practice, and the government has also tacitly allowed private owners to purchase and use slave labor in large quantities. However, in order to take care of public sentiment and give some thought to these coolies who are at the bottom of local society, Haihan officials still implement a labor points system in various public and private labor camps, and set up special treatment for those who want to leave slavery and apply for Han nationality. Appropriate standards were adopted to encourage these foreign labor slaves to work.
Of course, no matter which standard it is, it is extremely difficult to achieve, and in the end only a handful of people can persist until the day when the conditions are met. The vast majority of low-level workers who are not from Haihan can only make ends meet with the labor they sell. Those who can make a name for themselves in these places are either ruthless characters picked from a thousand, or they have cultivated enough in their previous lives. Lucky man with good fortune.
Li Bo naturally did not have such a deep understanding. He just lamented that Haihan had such a great demand for labor and would deliberately accommodate so many foreign workers. Looking back on the several ports I visited on my way south, there seemed to be no such scene. This may also be because those ports were closer to the Ming Dynasty and it was more convenient to introduce Han immigrants.
Because the North Korean team has a large number of people, Zhou Hengxing reserved an entire floor in a restaurant in the port area in advance, otherwise it would be difficult to arrange for so many dozens of people in a hurry. However, although this was an invitation to the North Korean team to have a meal in his own name, the entertainment expenses would definitely go to the public account. Fortunately, the Sanya Port Management Committee itself is also a fat and oily yamen, and Zhou Hengxing only needed to pay for this meal. Just sign and you'll be reimbursed.
Ning Qi knew this very well, so he would not ask Zhou Hengxing if he planned to pay for it out of his own pocket. This is the basic operation of foreign affairs reception. If he were to do this, he would definitely handle it in the same way.
The banquet was inevitably a feast of big fish and meat. Seeing his men feasting on the feast, Li Bo couldn't help but feel a little worried about the future life of these guys. It is said that after enrolling, the students will have to eat only the food provided by the collective cafeteria. By then, I am afraid there will not be so much greasy food for a whole month.
"How did the prince feel after seeing Sanya Port today?" Zhou Hengxing took the initiative to ask this question after toasting to Li Bo.
Li Pu thought for a moment and then responded: "Sanya Port is a little smaller, so it seems a little cramped. If it were bigger, it would be more prosperous than now. But here is one city with two ports, and the shortcomings of Sanya Port are also It can be supplemented by Victory Port, and the ports on both sides have their own division of labor, which is a unique development method. ”
Zhou Hengxing praised: "Your Majesty has a good vision, and all the issues he mentioned are on point. Sanya Port is limited by terrain and cannot build multiple large-scale cargo terminals like Victory Port, so we can only find another way to attract businesses by developing private terminals." , while developing itself, it can also play a certain supplementary role to Victory Port. "The executive committee's planning for these two ports actually started before the time travel operation, but the actual development and construction process was also due to this time and space. Many adjustments were made based on the specific situation. The development model of Sanya Port maximizes the use of external resources, greatly reducing Haihan's burden and effectively reducing development time.
However, every gain must come with a loss. Due to the emergence of a large number of private industries in the port area, Haihan's layout planning and specific execution of Sanya Port Area are far less complete than those of Victory Port. In addition, most immigrants arriving at the port now land at Sanya Port, so many immigrants will choose to find a place to stay nearby. As a result, large slums have spontaneously formed near the banks of the upper reaches of the two rivers.
According to incomplete statistics, at least more than 10,000 foreign workers live temporarily in these slums. Due to the numerous nationalities and races of the residents, it is also difficult for Haihan officials to manage these places, which will inevitably affect the local security situation. In recent years, it has gradually become a high-incidence area for local security cases in Sanya.
In view of the fact that Haihan’s population and household registration policies are difficult to change in a short period of time, and the social problems existing in Sanya Port are difficult to be cured, there are not many measures Zhou Hengxing can take at present, except to strengthen public security measures. , are also trying to provide these foreign workers with better living facilities, as well as vocational training and education opportunities, by improving their quality of life and cultural level, to change their original concepts and learn to abide by Haihan's laws and regulations.
These soft measures will not have immediate results, but in the long run, they will still play a positive role in improving the local social environment. It’s also a credit to Zhou Hengxing who has been sitting in this position for a long enough time. If the official is replaced every two or three years, it will most likely lead to political failure and it will be difficult to achieve long-term effects.
However, these dark sides wrapped under the glamorous coat cannot be seen by people like Li Bo who are just looking around. What Haihan officials showed him were bustling docks, eye-catching signboards, luxurious banquets, and various achievements from industrial construction. The Haihan he could see was a prosperous, wealthy and safe place, an existence worthy of North Korea's refuge and emulation.
Of course, Li Bo will stay in Haihan for two years. Sooner or later, he will come into contact with those hidden places, but the preconceived impression is very important. As long as he thinks that Haihan is a developed and prosperous country, there will be many unsatisfactory places. It will also be automatically ignored.
The North Korean students will not consider such a high level. They are still immersed in what they saw and heard today. Compared with the places they had visited in their lives, the prosperity of the capital city of Haihan had exceeded their imagination, which also gave them a clearer understanding of Haihan's national power.
After Andao Shi filled his stomach, he turned his attention to the outside of the restaurant. Looking out from where he sat, he could just see the hills of the Luhuitou Peninsula.
According to what he knows so far, the Haihan Army's army base and military academy are located on the Luhuitou Peninsula, which means that in the next period of time, he will go there to receive military training. Being so close to the final destination, Andoshi really couldn't wait to see what the base on the other side of the hills looked like.
However, there is no visit to the army base in today's itinerary, so his idea has not yet been realized. After the sumptuous lunch, they will visit the Victory Port Shipyard as scheduled. Although Andoshi had no interest in shipbuilding, this was an official arrangement and he could only choose to obey.
But just when the group was full and ready to leave the restaurant for the next stop, they met Yan Chujie outside the restaurant who was riding a carriage to the army base for business.
Yan Chujie saw Ning Qi in the car and took the initiative to stop and ask about their arrangements. Seeing that all the North Korean officer cadets seemed to be present, Yan Chujie took the initiative and said: "How about letting the naval officers follow you, and the other officer cadets will follow I went to Luhuitou Base to familiarize myself with the environment and go through the admission procedures.”
Although this arrangement was a bit sudden, Li Bo agreed immediately and let An Daoshi and others go with Yan Chujie. He actually didn't know why Yan Chujie had temporarily changed the arrangements for the officer cadets, but there was almost no harm in giving the cadets the opportunity to play tricks on Haihan, the Minister of Defense.
In fact, Yan Chujie did this just on a whim. The reason he went to the army base was that this afternoon was a training performance assessment for a group of foreign military cadets. He personally served as the examiner to show the Haihan military's importance to this. Originally, this activity did not include North Koreans at all, but by chance, they met not far from the base. Yan Chujie wanted to take the North Korean students there to open their eyes and let them understand what was going to happen in the next period. What kind of training will they receive, and how will their military skills be improved after receiving training from Haihan.
An Daoshi and others were naturally very excited, and the top leader of the Haihan military took them to the base to go through the enrollment procedures. This was quite an honor. As for the deep meaning behind this arrangement, no one dared to ask Yan Chujie at the moment.
In order to bring this group of temporary members, Yan Chujie's subordinates hired two large trucks nearby to pull goods. Anyway, it's only three or four miles from here to the base, so we'll be there in no time. Although the North Korean students felt that it was a bit demeaning to swagger through the city on this cart, no one dared to complain.
(End of chapter)