Chapter 2220
As Haihan's national power and influence increased year by year, businessmen from the Ming Dynasty finally chose to naturalize in Haihan. Such things were not uncommon in the past few years. However, considering their foundation and interests in the Ming Dynasty, the way of naturalization is not necessarily that these big businessmen themselves give up their status as Ming citizens and join Haihan. Many of them naturalize their family members.
In this way, the various assets and businesses they invest in Haihan can be legitimately managed and managed by "Haihan nationals", which will reduce many daily troubles caused by nationality issues.
Profit considerations will make these wealthy businessmen and powerful people who have a deep cooperative relationship with Haihan place bets on both Daming and Haihan, so that no matter what happens to either end, they will have a way out. Haihan's senior management is well aware of this and will not interfere with their operations. As long as these people can provide resources for Haihan's development, it does not matter if their stance swings.
As for businessmen groups like Yangzhou Salt Merchants who operate special industries, Haihan's senior management has always been willing to win over them. After all, the industry they operate is related to the national economy and people's livelihood of the Ming Dynasty. If Haihan can intervene in some secret way, then In the future, we will be able to exert influence on Ming society in this field. This is an effect that is difficult to achieve by relying on traditional military means.
Providing military support to Huizhou salt merchants, training armed personnel for them and selling them advanced weapons was the first step for Haihan to win over them. Although these services charge extremely high fees, the projects provided by Haihan are all sellers' markets. Even if the price is several times more expensive, Huizhou salt merchants will still pay without hesitation in order to protect themselves. .
Although extremely expensive, Huizhou salt merchants will soon realize that this investment is worth the money, and only Haihan in the world can provide this special military support, and there are no other options to choose from.
After both trade and military have established a deep cooperative relationship with Haihan, it will be easier to further win over these Yangzhou salt merchants. By then, changing nationality and marrying are all optional methods. However, Yuan Tao took this step ahead of the authorities. Even the Military Intelligence Bureau had not made relevant plans yet, so it was considered an unexpected gain from this mission.
But in fact, people with similar plans are not only Dai Yingda who has seen the strength of Jindun. Ma Zhengping, who has been in Zhoushan for a while, obviously has a much deeper understanding of Haihan Kingdom than Dai Yingda who is far away in Yangzhou, and he is also an early I started to think about in-depth cooperation with Haihan.
Regarding military training, arms trading and salt trade, these cooperation projects require joint discussion and decision-making by the seven major surnames, and Ma Zhengping alone cannot make the decision. However, during this period of inspections in various places in Zhoushan, he also learned a lot about the situation of foreign businessmen operating industries in Haihan from various channels, and of course he also had his own little calculations in mind.
The business store built by Ma Zhengping in the Zhoushan enclosure is not owned by him personally. The cost is jointly funded by the seven surnames, and it will be jointly operated by each after it is completed. Although there will be some oil and water in the construction process, the money is of little significance to Ma Zhengping, and he is not ready to focus on it.
What really touched Ma Zhengping was his contact with Duan Tiancheng during the process of allowing the salt merchant's children to enter the Zhoushan military camp for training.
Ma Zhengping first met Duan Tiancheng through fabric merchant Xuan Xiangming. Later, Duan Tiancheng became an instructor for the salt merchant's children, and Ma Zhengping had more opportunities to have direct contact with him. When he learned that Duan Tiancheng was also from the Ming Dynasty, and only got the chance to be promoted after joining the army of Haihan, his thoughts began to become active.
Since Han people from the Ming Dynasty can serve as officials in Haihan, then others can do the same. Ma Zhengping believes that his own children certainly have such qualifications. Therefore, he gave special instructions to the children of the Ma family who are currently training in the army, asking them to do their best to learn the military skills taught by Haihan and to perform outstandingly among these trainees.
Ma Zhengping believes that no matter where they are, people with outstanding strength will have more opportunities, so he hopes that his children can seize this training opportunity and use their strength to win the attention of the Haihan military. When the time comes, if he exerts more force on Duan Tiancheng's side, he may be able to arrange for a few of his own children to serve in the Haihan Army.
Since my family has abundant financial resources, I will naturally try to support these children to strive for promotion opportunities in the Haihan Army. After a few years, the Ma family will have several Haihan officers like Duan Tiancheng. Whether they are in Daming or Haihan, this will be a powerful boost.
Of course, this road may not be too smooth. After all, as far as he knows, promotion in the Haihan Army relies on the accumulation of military merit. There is no such thing as selling an official position and getting a title. The children of the Ma family probably have to go through several life-and-death combat operations. Will climb to a position of influence. Therefore, Ma Zhengping hopes to arrange a few more children to join the Haihan Army, so that even if some people are killed on the battlefield in the process, at least the entire army will not be easily wiped out.
In addition, Ma Zhengping also learned that Haihan would also recruit scholars from the Ming Dynasty and send them to serve as officials overseas after receiving special training. However, this kind of assessment is said to be quite strict. It is far from enough to only be able to read and write, and scholars with meritorious status will receive more preferential treatment.
The seven surnames were from well-off families, and naturally they also trained many descendants of Congwen, many of whom were powerful characters who had achieved fame. However, most of these famous people bet their futures on the Ming Dynasty, hoping to find a good career path through their family's financial resources. If they were asked to work in a foreign country overseas, nine out of ten people would reject it outright.
Ma Zhengping stayed in Zhoushan for less than a month and already had a rough plan. He wanted to select outstanding young people from the tribe to naturalize as Haihan, either join the army or take exams, and try to enter the Haihan officialdom for long-term development. If neither of these two paths is suitable, then just stick to your old job and run the family's business in Haihan.
Of course, before that, he first had to select an industry in Haihan that could be operated for a long time, set up a framework, and then select people from the family to take charge of the operation.
On this day, Ma Zhengping invited Duan Tiancheng and Xuan Xiangming out for dinner again, and asked them for advice on where to start if he wanted to find some stable industries to operate in Haihan.
In fact, this was not the first time that Ma Zhengping asked them about similar things. After Xuan Xiangming heard his intention, he immediately responded: "Brother Ma, if you want to run a long-term business in Zhoushan, the most stable one is It’s infrastructure and shipping. I remember telling you about these two businesses before. Have you ever tried them to understand them? ”
There was no business conflict between Xuan Xiangming and Ma Zhengping, so the advice he gave was very straightforward. The Zhoushan authorities have relatively strict management of land. It is impossible for foreign businessmen to enclose large amounts of land in Zhoushan. Therefore, the scope of operational infrastructure projects open to foreign businessmen in Zhoushan is actually relatively narrow, which is to fund the construction of ports, terminals and supporting roads. , warehousing and other facilities, and then make profits by collecting usage fees.
But the problem is that this kind of project must be built according to the standards proposed by Haihan officials, and must also accept official supervision during the construction process. These factors will lead to a very large amount of initial investment, plus a relatively long period of time. The construction period and the subsequent cost recovery period will be very long. It may take ten or eight years to recover the cost and start making profits, and this is definitely not a good deal for most businessmen.
Although the profit prospects of such projects are not good, there are still businessmen who are willing to take over such projects, but their purpose is often not for short-term profits. Of course, the more such infrastructure projects the better for the Zhoushan authorities. The addition of external capital will save the government a lot of resources, so the government will definitely be happy to see the results. Taking the initiative to take on this kind of project can easily win the favor of the Zhoushan authorities. If you want to operate here for a long time, it is particularly necessary to establish a good relationship with the officials. Investing in real estate can undoubtedly better demonstrate your long-term operation here. Determined, this kind of business is also the most popular target among the officials.
And in the long run, this kind of project will never lose money. If you are still operating in the shipping industry, then having your own cargo terminal and related facilities can greatly save operating costs. Therefore, Xuan Xiangming's suggestion to Ma Zhengping is to package port infrastructure and shipping. If you want to do it, do both at the same time, which will be more cost-effective.
Ma Zhengping smiled bitterly and said: "Repairing docks and running ships are all big businesses, and after investing, you won't see the money coming back in a short time. I'm really embarrassed."
Xuan Xiangming shook his head and said: "Although these businesses require a lot of investment, the long-term returns are stable, and with Haihan guarding this place, there is almost no business risk at all. Although it is not as profitable as you selling salt, Brother Ma If you ask for a stable industry, there won’t be many businesses that are more stable than this.”
Ma Zhengping smiled and said: "Brother Xuan, the business you do is no worse than this in terms of stability!"
Xuan Xiangming waved his hand and said: "How can Brother Ma think so well! There are hundreds of fabric merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Brother Ma may not have imagined how fierce the competition in this industry is. The light was opened on Zhoushan Island There are more than 30 similar shops. I am based in Zhoushan. I am worried that if I don’t keep an eye on this place for a long time, my business will be taken away by my peers. It is conceivable that the profits will be lost. If I don’t see any improvement in another year or two, I will switch to something else.”
Ma Zhengping joked: "Is it possible that Brother Xuan also wants to build a pier and start a boat trip?"
Xuan Xiangming shook his head and said: "I don't have enough capital, so I really can't do this business. I can only look at opening a farm on a few hundred acres of land on Taiwan Island in the south. I heard that many businessmen from Fuzhou and Guangzhou are doing this. Purchasing land in Taiwan is also a good way for local owners. ”
Ma Zhengping said: "I've heard people talk about the various benefits of Taiwan Island recently, but it's just too far away. I have to find an opportunity to see the local conditions in person."
Duan Tiancheng interjected at this time: "If Boss Ma is determined to develop in Taiwan Island, I can make arrangements for him. I have a few friends in the local government who can provide some care."
Ma Zhengping hesitated for a moment before responding: "Thank you, Master Duan, for your kindness, but let's wait until we send this group of people to complete their training! If you don't keep an eye on these guys, I will feel a little uneasy after all!"
Compared to businesses such as dock repair and shipbuilding, Ma Zhengping is certainly more willing to accept the traditional investment method of buying land and growing grain. However, he also heard that the island of Taiwan is still thousands of miles away from Zhoushan. It is really a bit far. If you invest in such a far place, you will definitely not feel at ease unless you see it with your own eyes.
Duan Tiancheng said: "Actually, the qualifications of these people you sent are pretty good. Most of them have a cultural foundation and can write and calculate. They are much better than the soldiers our country recruits from the private sector. If they are in our Haihan Army, Such qualifications are generally selected and trained as reserve officers.”
Ma Zhengping said: "Master Duan is really overly complimentary. If there is anything wrong with these boys, please train them hard. Don't feel bad!"
Ma Zhengping was worried that what Duan Tiancheng said was just polite words, but Duan Tiancheng didn't have so many twists and turns in his stomach, and what he said was the truth. These children of salt merchants have been sent to private schools since they were young. Most of their elders are businessmen, and they have mastered basic arithmetic skills very early under the influence. There are also talents like Dai Chengrong who have practiced martial arts since childhood, and their qualifications are indeed quite good. Moreover, because these people have better family backgrounds, have had enough to eat, wear warm clothes, and keep up with nutrition since childhood, their physical fitness is better than that of ordinary people.
With soldiers with such qualifications, it would be good if the Haihan Army could recruit at most one or two out of a hundred recruits, and they would definitely be regarded as key training targets. The conditions when Duan Tiancheng first joined the army were similar to this. He himself had experienced this process personally, so he was inspired by it.
Duan Tiancheng smiled and said: "If some of these people want to stay in our country of Haihan for development in the future, what does Boss Ma think?"
Ma Zhengping said: "Children from other families cannot be controlled by me. If they are children of my Ma family, then I should not object. Water flows to lower places and people go to higher places. If you can develop in your country, it should be better than returning to Yangzhou." A salt dealer has a better future. Even if things don’t go well, it’s still a good thing to go outside and broaden your horizons.”
"Boss Ma is really an enlightened person!" Duan Tiancheng was quite satisfied with his statement.
In fact, the question raised by Duan Tiancheng did not entirely represent his personal views, but Shi Diwen had some other thoughts after understanding the situation of this group of students.
For local chief executives like Shi Diwen, constantly attracting talents from the outside world for their own use is an effective measure to consolidate their own power and prestige. Compared with the officials assigned from Sanya, Shi Diwen obviously preferred the direct personnel trained and trained under his own rule. As for whether these people are the children of salt merchants or have other identities, there is no need to worry.
(End of chapter)