Chapter 3482
February 1658, Hambantota Port, Ceylon Island.
Early that morning, Qian Shaobao hurried to the dock with a steamed bun in one hand and a drawing in the other. A section of road under construction in the past two days has been modified. He needs to release a new construction plan to his workers before starting work today.
After Qian Shaobao returned to Hambantota with Gao Qiaonan, he became the foreman again and continued to supervise various local infrastructure projects. This job is even more difficult than that of a combat staff officer.
In just one or two months since he arrived in Ceylon, his originally dark complexion had darkened several degrees, and he didn't look much different from the local aborigines.
However, Qian Shaobao now has no time to care about these trivial matters. During this period, he spent all his food and accommodation on the construction site, and his mind was all about engineering. He would even dream about looking at architectural design drawings at night.
After the addition of thousands of young and strong laborers from Colombo, the construction progress of port facilities has been significantly accelerated. Jetty bridges have sprung up on the coast one after another, and ships entering the port no longer need to take a day or two. Time to wait for the berth to be vacated.
If nothing unexpected happens, the first phase of the port project can be completed at least two or three months ahead of schedule. This is also a big achievement for Qian Shaobao who lacks combat opportunities.
As the twilight dawned, another cargo fleet arrived in the small harbor of Hambantota, including two warships responsible for escorting them.
Qian Shaobao recognized at a glance that the two warships belonged to the special warfare division stationed in Phuket Island, and he immediately wanted to ask the crew about the current situation there.
Although he would communicate with his father in Phuket via telegram every few days, it was too troublesome to send and receive messages by telegram, so both parties basically just reported that they were safe through telegrams, and there was no more communication.
Qian Shaobao hurriedly announced the new construction plan to the workers, and then rushed to the dock where the two warships were moored. But when I arrived at the place, I saw that Minami Takahashi had come to pick up the ship in person. Could it be that some important items had been transported on the ship?
Before Qian Shaobao could think about becoming famous, he saw his father Qian Tiandun appearing on the gangway, and he came quietly to inspect Ceylon Island.
The whereabouts of Haihan's senior figures are top secrets and are rarely announced in advance. Qian Shaobao doesn't care about this either. Although he is Qian Tiandun's eldest son, in the military, his status is only a combat staff officer. It is normal for this level to not have access to confidential information.
However, since they had already met, there was no need to avoid it anymore. Qian Shaobao quickly stepped forward and joined the team welcoming Qian Tiandun.
Qian Tiandun did not immediately go to the accommodation arranged by Gaoqiao Nan to settle down, but asked to visit the current infrastructure progress first.
Hearing this, Gao Qiaonan called Qian Shaobao over: "Major Qian Shaobao is the supervisor of the port project, so it is most appropriate for him to introduce it."
Qian Shaobao did not refuse and immediately led the way, introducing the current progress of the project to Qian Tiandun.
Qian Tiandun spent half a day inspecting various infrastructure projects in the bay. It was not until lunch time that the group went to the officers' mess at the garrison headquarters. It wasn't until he sat down to eat that Qian Tiandun asked Takahashi Nan about the previous battle in Colombo and the results of his dealings with the Portuguese.
Regarding the battle with the Dutch, Qian Tiandun's evaluation was very simple. After Haihan enters the island of Ceylon, he will inevitably have conflicts with the Western colonial countries who came here first. It is actually a good thing for all parties to be able to show their attitude by killing chickens and warning monkeys in such a small-scale armed conflict.
I believe that after this battle, at least Portugal and the Netherlands will be quiet for a long time, and Haihan will be able to concentrate resources to complete the construction of Hambantota Port as soon as possible.
It is not difficult to see from this evaluation that in Qian Tiandun's mind, the construction process of Hambantota Port is far more important than this military operation.
Qian Tiandun then said: "Next, I will arrange to relocate some of the laborers and engineers from Phuket. The local port project must prioritize manpower, and the supporting warehousing and transportation facilities must be completed as soon as possible."< br>
Takahashi Nan heard Xiange and realized: "Does the executive committee have any new arrangements for this place?"
Qian Tiandun nodded and said: "The Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Commerce will soon send people to inspect the construction situation here. As long as the port facilities are qualified, Hambantota Port will be included in the list of the next batch of key overseas ports for construction. , when the country will allocate special resources and funds, we must seize this opportunity! ”
Takahashi Nan said with a look of relief: "It seems that the Executive Committee has also recognized your long-term plan for the trans-Indian Ocean trade route!"
Qian Tiandun said with a smile: "The Executive Committee has always approved of it, but before we make progress, the Executive Committee is worried that the resources invested will be in vain and is unwilling to make arrangements in advance."
Qian Tiandun's goal after moving south from the Northern Region was to march westward into the Indian Ocean. However, during this process, the support given by the Executive Committee was relatively limited. It only shouldered the basic military expenditures of the special warfare division. However, for the three islands in the Strait of Malacca, And the subsequent development and construction of Ceylon Island did not provide much useful help to Qian Tiandun.
So far, Qian Tiandun has invested a lot of money out of his own pocket in the development projects of these islands, and these investments can only be recovered slowly through operating ports after the trade routes are put into operation.
The development of these islands is like a bottomless pit. Qian Tiandun's savings from many years of operating in the north have been poured into it over the past year. Even if he had rich assets before, he could not afford the huge expenditure required for large-scale infrastructure construction.
Although Qian Tiandun is willing to invest, if the construction cycle is too long, there may be a shortage of funds. If the Executive Committee remains inactive, by the middle of this year at the latest, he will have to consider introducing external funds to support the development plans of these islands in the Indian Ocean.
Now that the executive committee has stated that it will invest resources here to participate in the construction, this will undoubtedly greatly reduce the difficulty of development and relieve Qian Tiandun's financial pressure.
Of course, it is not easy to allocate funds from the treasury. If Qian Tiandun wants to get the money, he must first let these islands pass the joint inspection of the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Commerce.
The information Qian Tiandun received showed that this inspection will have certain requirements for the infrastructure of each island. The three islands on the Strait of Malacca have been under construction for more than a year and should be safe to pass. Qian Tiandun is currently The biggest concern is whether the construction progress of Hambantota can meet the standards.