Chapter 1913 Before departure
For Li Bo, as long as the funding problem can be solved, everything else is easy to talk about. After going abroad and coming to the territory ruled by Haihan, Li Bo has fully felt the gap in the economic development levels of the two countries. The living conditions Haihan provided along the way were even better than when he was at home. Although Li Bo really wanted to complete this inspection trip at the moment, if he had to bear the inspection expenses himself, he would definitely not be able to come up with the unplanned funds.
Of course, Li Bo also understood that the shrewd Haihan people could not pay these conditions in vain. The other party's initiative to give him high-standard and generous treatment must be to get corresponding rewards in some aspect. As for what this kind of reward is specifically, although Haihan has never mentioned it, Li Pu knows that it must be related to his identity - the Haihan people have gone to great lengths to please him, probably because they have taken a fancy to his qualifications to inherit the throne.
But this is not a big deal. Li Bo has been dealing with the Haihan people for a long time, and he also knows that their habit is to treat everything as a transaction, even the exchanges between countries. Haihan only sent troops to aid North Korea to fight the Qing Dynasty after receiving money. Now he is spending money to please himself, of course, in the hope of receiving a large enough return from North Korea in the future.
Territory, population or property, what is the return Haihan wants from North Korea, or a bigger goal than this, Li Bo actually doesn't care much. He cares more about what North Korea can learn from Haihan, or whether his country can become more powerful in the future like other Haihan allies after paying the conditions Haihan wants.
The Fujian Xu family could bypass the Ming Dynasty and decide on their own the garrison, establishment, and personnel appointment of the local army. Annan, a country located in the South China Sea, had the ability to send troops to North Korea. This kind of behavior made Li Shu very envious. It seemed that as long as With Haihan's support, rising is just around the corner.
Li Bo currently has no extravagant ambition to send troops overseas to conquer the Quartet. As long as his country has the strength to independently resist the invasion of foreign enemies, he will be thankful. Of course, it would be best if it could be stronger and use military retaliation against neighboring enemy countries, preferably to completely eliminate them.
As for how to choose the destinations in the itinerary, Li Bo actually had no idea. If Li Xi were to introduce all the destinations listed by Haihan now, it would inevitably take another day and a half. So he simply handed over the decision-making power to Li Xi. At least Li Xi understood it far better than he did.
"Confirm your itinerary as soon as possible and don't delay for too long." Li Shu paused and then said: "Today should be the day when Haihan Times is published, right? Has the embassy ordered this newspaper?"
Li Xi nodded and responded: "Of course I have ordered the Times. However, this issue date refers to the morning issue, and it will not be delivered to the embassy until about noon. If the prince is anxious to know the news in the newspaper, he can go to the city first to find it. Sitting in a teahouse, the storyteller is usually arranged to read the newspaper as soon as possible. ”
Go to a teahouse in the city to drink tea and listen to a book? It sounded like he was enjoying himself, and Li Bo couldn't help but feel a little moved, but he remembered the set of "The Rise of the South China Sea" that he had not finished, and felt that it would be better to read more books at this time. Anyway, he would be able to read the newspaper at noon. In fact, there is no reason to rush for this moment.
Li Bo actually wanted to see if there was any news about him in the new issue of Haihan Times. If there was, then see how Haihan officials commented on his arrival. In addition, he also wanted to see if there was any news from his home country in the newspaper. He had been away from Seoul for so long and almost lost contact with the country, which also made him somewhat concerned about the situation in the country.
"Forget it, it's better to wait. It's almost noon anyway." Li Shu stood up and said, "I'm going to the study to read. I'll bring the newspaper over when it arrives."
As Li Pu said, it is indeed very fast to read a book. He felt that before he had turned a few pages, someone sent him the new Haihan Times that came out today.
Li Bo opened the newspaper, and sure enough, he quickly saw news related to him on the front page - the visit of the crown prince of Joseon to Sanya and the creation of a new chapter in the relationship between the two countries.
This report did not have many words and only occupied about one-fifth of the front page. However, the wording of the article gave Li Bo's visit a very high evaluation. He believed that North Korea's sending the crown prince to Haihan to visit and study abroad was based on its high regard and trust in the relationship between the two countries, and this move is very important for promoting the current cooperation between the two countries. Relationships will play a huge role.
Although it was obvious at first glance that it was just a scene, it still greatly satisfied Li Bo's vanity. The fact that the Haihan Times gave him a front-page report was enough to prove the importance the officials attached to his visit.
The other news on the front page has basically nothing to do with North Korea. They are all about the autumn grain harvest somewhere in Haihan, the opening of a new route at a certain port, and there are no war-related reports. It seems that after the two large-scale overseas combat operations this year, Haihan has no plans to use force again for the time being.
Li Bo flipped through the content at the back, but there was still nothing related to North Korea, but he did see a lot of news about Haihan's other allies. For example, with the assistance of Haihan prospectors, Annan State discovered considerable reserves of iron ore somewhere in the country, and it is expected to start mining as soon as next year. Of course, Haihan will also participate in the mining and operation of this mine, and part of the mine's revenue will be allocated to Haihan.
Li Ming couldn't help but think of the iron ore on the south bank of the Datong River Estuary, which was also one of the cooperative development projects agreed upon by the two countries. If everything goes well, the mining time should be earlier than the iron mine in Annan. However, what is not known is that in order to obtain loans from Haihan Bank to tide over financial difficulties, North Korea is already renegotiating the share ratio of this iron ore with Haihan, hoping to use it as collateral in exchange for economic development from Haihan. assistance.
Another piece of news is related to Portugal. Since Portugal contributed a lot in this year's Battle of Manila, the post-war Haihan Executive Committee also specifically approved allowing Portugal to establish a town in Rosario, near the Cavite Peninsula, in Manila Bay. Exclusive colonial area. Of course, this colonial area only allowed the Portuguese to live and engage in various jobs there, and the ownership of the land was still in the hands of Haihan.
The news in the newspaper was that the Portuguese built an inland river terminal at the mouth of a river near Rosario Town, and successively opened three routes: Malacca to Manila, Hoi An to Manila, and Macau to Manila.
Li Pu knew the location of Macau. When he went south from Hong Kong, officials from Haihan explained the situation in Macau to him, but he had no idea where Hoi An City and Malacca City were. As for the significance of the opening of these three routes to the Portuguese, Li Fu was even more ignorant.
In fact, most people who read this news will not realize the significance of this move by the Portuguese. Only a handful of people who travel to the South China Sea all year round have a good understanding of the geography, sea conditions and international relations in this area. Only people will understand how much effort the Portuguese made to obtain such a foothold on the east side of the South China Sea. The Portuguese settled in Malacca more than a hundred years ago and entered the South China Sea and East Asia through this sea channel. However, their settlement has always been limited to the coast of the mainland, and the battle for territory in the South China Sea has always been They were all suppressed by Spain and the Netherlands. After hundreds of years of fighting, they were unable to occupy a stable colony on the east and southeast sides of the South China Sea.
When Haihan launched the Battle of Manila, the Portuguese realized that this was an excellent opportunity to gain a foothold in the eastern part of the South China Sea, and decisively sent an armed fleet to participate in the war. As long as he can help the Haihan people drive the Spanish out of this area, he will have a chance to settle in this area.
The post-war results also verified the Portuguese's judgment. The Spanish were defeated and completely withdrew from Luzon. Haihan's maritime transport capacity in this area is not too much, and Portugal can just fill this gap. Although the land granted to Portugal by Haihan is not ideal and has many restrictions, it is already the best opportunity for Portugal to settle in this area so far, and they will not be picky about it.
In fact, after acquiring this land, the Portuguese immediately began immigration and construction. In just a few months, they built an inland river terminal locally and had basic shipping capabilities. Although the three routes built subsequently lead to Portugal's own ports, they have also revitalized the shipping industry in Manila to a certain extent. Haihan officials are also happy to see this.
Anyone who can understand this news will definitely immediately think of Manila’s local shipping capacity as insufficient, and may also find business opportunities from it. However, Li Pu certainly did not see the meaning behind this. He believed that this was Haihan's reward for Portugal's contribution to the war.
But Li Xi was not so leisurely. He knew that time was tight and he didn't even bother to have lunch. He hurriedly drew up the inspection itinerary and then reported to Li Bo. After getting a positive answer from Li Bo, he had to rush to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm the relevant arrangements with Song Yongan. After all the busy work here and there, the day is almost over.
"Master Li is very efficient in doing things. The decision was made so quickly!" Song Yong'an did not expect that Li Xi would finish the discussion in the morning and come to hand over the plan in the afternoon. It seems that the North Koreans are far more anxious about this matter than met his own expectations.
Li Xi responded: "I also know that Mr. Song is busy with official duties, so it is not good to waste Mr. Song's time for this matter."
Song Yongan took a rough look at Li Xi's proposed itinerary destination, and found that there was basically no problem. He made an estimate and said to Li Xi: "If the time arrangement is more generous, then this trip should take about fifteen days, Mr. Li." What do you think?”
This time is not much different from Li Xi's own estimate. He nodded and said: "The Crown Prince also agrees with this plan. There is no problem with the time."
"Okay, then I will hold a meeting immediately to arrange the matter, and tomorrow the itinerary will be sent to the embassy for the Crown Prince and Mr. Li to review." Song Yongan immediately gave a clear response.
"Thank you, Mr. Song!" Li Xi stood up and left immediately knowingly, not to delay Song Yongan's working time.
After Li Xi left, Song Yongan immediately notified the relevant departments and sent people to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm the itinerary of the Joseon Crown Prince.
First of all, a high-end passenger ship in good condition is necessary, and the Ministry of Transportation has a dedicated ship that can be used with the next transfer order. Taking into account security and diplomatic etiquette issues, it is probably necessary to send a warship to serve as an escort. There are many large and small ports that can provide supplies during the voyage around the island. For this scale of travel, there is no need to bring additional supply ships. As for the transportation after landing, it can only be provided by various local governments, but this is not a problem. These candidate areas that are officially listed as inspection destinations have dedicated four-wheel carriages for transporting VIPs.
The second issue is the accompanying personnel. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will definitely send officials to accompany him, so needless to say. The transportation department does not need to send additional personnel. The captains of such special passenger ships have official positions and can handle various transportation-related matters on the way. If armed warships are to be sent to escort, the military will also need to deploy some manpower to accompany them throughout the journey. In addition, the civil affairs department may need to send doctors and chefs to accompany them in case of emergency.
As for whether the Ministry of Security will send personnel to participate, this will not be determined until the Ministry of Foreign Affairs communicates with it. This kind of visit and inspection mission is generally relatively leisurely. In addition, there are military escorts, and the Ministry of Security does not necessarily send someone to accompany the entire trip every time. It would not be surprising if the Ministry of Security did not feel the need to participate in this mission.
After roughly estimating the number of people and itinerary, Song Yongan will calculate the approximate cost based on past standards, and then submit an application to his superiors. However, for this kind of application, he directly sends the cost budget to the superior's desk, so the approval is very fast, and there is no need to wait for a few days for confirmation like other expenses.
Song Yongan was busy until after dark, and then basically confirmed the itinerary with various departments. However, the Ministry of Security has not given a clear answer. Song Yongan believes that this may be because the Ministry of Security lacks interest in this and does not intend to send anyone to accompany him. He read the copied itinerary plan again, then got up and sent the plan and the related cost budget to Ning Qi's office. However, Ning Qi had already gone back to rest after get off work, so he would probably have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the approval.
Of course, this will not exceed the one-day time limit that Song Yongan promised to the North Koreans, as long as the final arrangements are submitted to the North Koreans tomorrow afternoon. Moreover, this plan will not be implemented until Ning Qi's approval. In fact, various departments are already preparing to determine the accompanying personnel, and they can set off from Sanya as soon as the day after tomorrow.
(End of chapter)