Chapter 2790
The northern and southern coastal areas were annexed by Haihan at different time points, so there are obvious differences between the north and the south in local merchants' understanding of Haihan-style commercial operations, especially the shipping system.
Merchants in the South have long tasted the benefits of expanding their business scope through shipping. They have made a lot of money in the development process of Hong Kong, Kaohsiung Port, Dinghai Port and other places. They are well aware of the benefits of having fixed operating facilities in the port, so as soon as they have When such new big port projects appear, these capitals will flock in like sharks that smell fishy smell.
Merchants in the north entered the game late. Although they are also working hard to operate shipping, they are obviously not as clear-eyed as the southern merchants about the long-term benefits that can be obtained by investing in large-scale infrastructure projects outside the region, and they lack the courage to take investment risks. Therefore, when emerging port projects emerge, only a few people can decisively seize such opportunities.
In addition to fixed facilities such as warehouses and commercial warehouses, the most popular infrastructure projects for southern merchants to invest in include exclusive dock berths. In this way, merchants can customize the loading and unloading facilities and layout of the terminal according to their own business needs to improve the operational efficiency of the terminal.
Jiang Jianzhang said: "Qingdao Port adopts a development model of exclusive terminals and warehouse areas. Every outsourced warehouse area you see has a corresponding exclusive terminal. There are currently fifteen exclusive terminals under construction. There are more than 60 large and small berths, and it is expected that at least a dozen exclusive terminals will be started within the year. ”
As Jiang Jianzhang introduced, most of the completed and unfinished buildings in the port area have conspicuous advertising signs or cloth banners, indicating the identity of the owners. As everyone on the carriage glanced over, it was not difficult to find that there were many familiar southern merchants.
However, the largest exclusive wharf among them is not a foreign business as shown on the sign, but is owned by the local Denglai Chamber of Commerce in Shandong. The wharf is more than a hundred feet long and has more than ten large and small trestles. It is estimated that fifty or sixty ships can be docked casually. Boat.
Ning Zijing subconsciously sighed: "This Denglai Chamber of Commerce is quite powerful!"
Hearing this, Jiang Jianzhang explained: "Neither the Ma family nor our Jiang family operate independently, but invest together in the name of Denglai Chamber of Commerce."
"That's it." Ning Zijing suddenly realized. With these two companies as the backbone of the Denglai Chamber of Commerce, their strength cannot be underestimated, and they are bound to occupy a place in Qingdao Port.
Continuing to travel northeast along the coastline, there seems to be another port area under construction a few miles away from the built port area. Jiang Jianzhang took the initiative to introduce without asking, "That's the North Sea Fleet base under construction over there. Naval troops were stationed one after another last winter."
"Then let's take a look!" Bai Kesi originally wasn't very interested in this, but when he saw the eager eyes of the two young people, he immediately changed his mind.
Haihan has not launched any large-scale foreign wars in recent years. Younger generations such as Bai Letong and Ning Zijing have basically grown up in a peaceful environment. It is extremely rare for them to be interested in military facilities. Bai Kesi is also very fond of it. Willing to fulfill them.
In fact, compared with commercial docks, the construction standards of naval bases are more consistent. In addition to the docks for warships, various facilities including roads, barracks, and weapons depots must be constructed according to unified standards. Build.
This means that the naval base in Qingdao Port is very similar to the naval bases in Dinghai Port, Sasebo Port, Kaohsiung Port and other places. It's just that Bai Letong and Ning Zijing didn't realize this before. It wasn't until they entered the base and looked at the very familiar buildings and camp layout around them that they realized that everything here was actually a copy of the existing naval base. There were no large warships as they expected to see on the pier, only a few comprehensive supply ships and exploration-class warships docked.
Jiang Jianzhang explained: "At present, the main base of the North Sea Fleet is still located in Port Arthur, Liaodong, so after the beginning of spring, most of the ships that spend the winter here have already gone north."
Ning Zijing asked: "After this base is completed, will it continue to be vacant for a long time?"
Jiang Jianzhang said: "That's not the case. The expansion of the North Sea Fleet is imminent. A regional command center will be set up at this base, and a fleet will be stationed in Qingdao Port. In addition, the Northern Naval Academy and the North Sea Fleet Training Center planned by Mr. Chen will also The largest shipyard in Shandong will also be located here. ”
One of the main reasons why the Northern Region developed Qingdao Port is because the increasingly expanding North Sea Fleet needs to establish a military base relatively close to the south to meet the fleet's winter stationing needs. When it comes to site selection, the military does not need to choose at all. Qingdao Port is the best and only location.
From the Shandong Peninsula to the south to Hangzhou Bay, there is no other place that can meet the same conditions as Qingdao Port. Even Zhifu Port, which was built on the coast of Fushan County, Dengzhou in the early years, is far worse than Qingdao Port in terms of environmental conditions.
After this place is completed, it can theoretically accommodate the entire North Sea Fleet's ships to enter the port for the winter. Even the naval forces stationed at North Korea's Datong River base will temporarily return to Qingdao Port.
However, with the current size of the North Sea Fleet, whether expansion is still necessary is still controversial among Haihan senior officials.
Haihan almost completely controlled the coastlines of the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea more than ten years ago, and has no comparable opponents in this sea area. As the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty surrendered one after another in the past two years, the North Sea Fleet's combat missions will only become less and less. In the future, most of the time it may just serve as an armed force on combat readiness. Whether it is necessary to continue to maintain a large establishment remains a question. Somewhat controversial.
The opinion of some members of the Executive Committee is to maintain the current establishment of the North Sea Fleet and tilt naval military expenditures to the southern region. After all, south and west are the main directions of external expansion in the future. Gathering a large-scale navy in this narrow Yellow and Bohai Sea area The armed fleet does not seem to bring additional benefits to Haihan.
Others believe that it is still necessary to prepare for a rainy day so that the North Sea Fleet can maintain a strong enough deterrent force against the areas controlled by the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and North Korea. The large-scale armed fleet is undoubtedly a very intuitive display of strength.
As long as one or two large-scale military exercises are organized in the Yellow and Bohai areas every year, and the surrounding envoys are sent to observe the exercises, the peaceful international situation here can be effectively continued. Therefore, even if it is just a pretense, the North Sea Fleet should continue to maintain its large establishment.
There is no clear distinction between the opinions of the two factions, so the expansion of the North Sea Fleet is actually still stuck at the stage of approval by the Executive Committee. However, Chen Yixin seems to have planned the future military use of Qingdao Port, and is obviously determined to promote the early implementation of the fleet expansion.
(End of chapter)