Chapter 3573
Shi Diwen could understand the attitude of the Fujian Xu family in actively requesting to go to war. In addition to running Fujian in recent years, the Xu family has also been trying to keep up with Shanghai Han's external expansion process and branch out overseas.
If such a goal is achieved purely through trade channels, the results will be too slow, and it will not reflect the advantages that the Xu family has compared to private merchants. Sending troops to participate in Haihan's overseas military operations is the most effective method.
Using military merit in exchange for the qualification to participate in the development of new overseas colonial areas is definitely a profitable business in the long run. However, there are currently not many local wealthy families that possess both this awareness and the corresponding strength. The Xu family, which is now in charge of parts of Fujian and Jiangxi, can be regarded as one of the best.
The current head of the Xu family, Xu Yuzhuo, participated in the executive committee's re-election campaign last year. Although he was just a running companion, it also revealed that the Xu family's political ambition is not just to become the local emperor in Fujian.
I just wonder if Qiu Yuan and Xiao Liang, who are now in charge of the Luzon Region, are willing to open the door and let the Xu family participate in the development of the South Pacific region.
As for the military supplies needed by the Luzon Region during the war with Spain, Shi Diwen believed that there might not be any need for the Executive Committee to make arrangements at all. If the Xu family could be allowed to send troops to participate in the war and for subsequent development, Xu Yuzhuo would probably be happy to provide Luzon with Song District provided assistance.
With Fujian's products and economic level, it shouldn't be difficult to win over the Luzon Region. The maritime transportation capacity that Fujian can provide alone is much better than that of the Luzon Region, and this is the resource that the Luzon Expeditionary Force urgently needs.
Maybe Xu Yuzhuo had already conveyed such an intention to the Manila authorities through some secret channels, which would undoubtedly increase the weight in the hands of the Xu family.
However, the Executive Committee will certainly not sit back and watch their private alliances, and has already prepared checks and balances for this.
Shi Diwen continued to ask: "Since the Xingdao Region has taken the lead in the Luzon Region, how is their development progress in the New World?"
Ji Yuanqing said: "It is said that the Xingdao Region has sent a second colonial fleet to the New World, and several settlements have been established there. In terms of progress, the progress is much faster than that of the Luzon Region."
Shi Diwen said: "Does the Xingdao region have any new trends in the Indian Ocean?"
Ji Yuanqing said: "After General Qian's troops took control of the southern part of Ceylon Island, Xingdao didn't even send formal troops to station, but only sent a few officers there as a token. It seems that they should have concentrated all their resources in the direction of the New World. I can’t spare any time to assist General Qian.”
This news did not surprise Shi Diwen. After all, Xingdao's strength was limited, and it would be somewhat beyond its capabilities to expand in two directions at the same time.
The progress made in the Indian Ocean is the result of the joint efforts of the two companies. The future profits will still be divided half and half with Qian Tiandun. For Xingdao, it is of course more cost-effective to win the New World alone.
However, Shi Diwen is not optimistic about the huge resources that Xingdao has invested in the New World. In his opinion, the two places are too far away, and the New World is located in a sparsely populated and remote place. Early development can only rely on external investment. It takes quite some time to achieve output.
Star Island's own population base and products are very limited. If a large number of people and materials are transported to the New World, it will inevitably affect its normal operation. This may not be a wise choice in Shi Diwen's opinion. Rather than investing a large amount of resources in the development of the New World, it would be better to cooperate with Qian Tiandun to open up shipping routes in the Indian Ocean. If a colony can be established in the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East, it will be a major event for future generations.
However, this was only Shi Diwen's unilateral idea. He knew that Roger was always very independent in doing things and would not be easily disturbed. Even if he tried to persuade him in person, it might not work.
Moreover, one of the reasons why the Executive Committee asked Singdao to develop the New World was to check and balance the Luzon Region. It may not be happy to see Singdao rushing too hard and too fast in the direction of the Indian Ocean.
This conflict of interests involves many parties, and it is difficult to simply determine which plan is more beneficial to Haihan's long-term development in the future. We can only take one step at a time and wait and see. Perhaps at some point in the future, the situation will suddenly become clearer.
Now that the conversation was about the Indian Ocean, Shi Diwen also took a look at the situation on Qian Tiandun's side.
According to Ji Yuanqing, Qian Tiandun's special warfare division has built a port at Hambantota on Ceylon Island. The Portuguese had previously solved the siege of Colombo with the help of special operations divisions, and owed a huge favor. Naturally, they could only accept Haihan's entry into Ceylon and showed no resistance.
The Dutch suffered a moderate loss in the city of Colombo, but they did not dare to break up with Haihan because of this. They knew that they were weak and unable to deal with Portugal and Haihan joining forces, so they could only break their teeth and go. Swallowed in the stomach.
However, although the armed forces under Qian Tiandun's jurisdiction are quite powerful in attacking cities and fortresses, management and development are not what they are good at. In addition, the special warfare division has no real base in the South China Sea, so its subsequent actions still need to rely on domestic and the support of the Sing Tao Region.
After Singdao invested a large amount of resources in the South Pacific, there were not so many available resources to continue to provide the special warfare divisions. In addition, the executive committee's attention had been focused on Japan in the past few months. The special warfare divisions could not Without sufficient logistical support, it can only temporarily stop on a few islands at both ends of the Bay of Bengal.
Shi Diwen knew that Qian Tiandun was a restless person and asked his troops to stay in the Indian Ocean for half a year. He was afraid that he could no longer hold it any longer and would definitely find a way to send a message to the Executive Committee to apply for the next step. action.
At the executive committee meeting the next day, someone indeed spoke for Qian Tiandun.
Defense Minister Yan Chujie pointed out that it is extremely unreasonable for an elite combat force like the Special Operations Division to have been idle in the Indian Ocean for nearly half a year.
Since Qian Tiandun is determined to open up borders for his country and open up the Indian Ocean shipping lanes connecting the Middle East, the Executive Committee should support this and provide all the resources needed for his actions as soon as possible.
"Nowadays, there are many places asking for support from the Executive Committee, and we don't have so many resources to meet the demands of each place. Besides, when Lao Qian led his troops south, he also agreed on the main tasks of his troops. The Sing Tao Region provides logistical support. It has only been two or three years since it reached out to the Executive Committee. So the original agreement will be automatically invalidated? "
The person who questioned Yan Chujie was Schneider. As a senior official in charge of Haihan's financial power, as soon as he heard Yan Chujie's words, he knew that the next step was to apply for additional military expenditures.
(End of chapter)