Chapter 424 Zhan Gui buys a boat

"Director Zhou, these are 5,000 kilograms of rice and 3,000 kilograms of clean coal entrusted by the Ministry of Civil Affairs to be transported downstream. Please send someone to collect some of them!" Zhan Gui respectfully handed it to Zhou Hengxing, who was sitting behind the huge mahogany desk.

A piece of paper was handed over.

Since the Shilu project requires a large amount of maritime transport capacity to transport personnel and materials from Sanya to Changhua, the Ministry of Shipping had to start to deploy most of its cargo ships back to the Qiongzhou coast to undertake transportation tasks. Between the coast of North Vietnam and Sanya

Most of the sea-going ships have temporarily given up their original transportation tasks, but it is impossible to give up the transportation tasks in this range, so the Ministry of Shipping and other relevant units began to coordinate and hire ships from Daming Shipping to undertake this task.

Partial capacity requirements.

This approach is not the first time it has been adopted after time travel. After the Black Earth Port was developed in 1627, Haihan hired several sea ships for a period of time to travel between Victory Port and Black Earth Port because of its own insufficient transportation capacity.

After a long period of operation, all aspects of this practice have become relatively mature. Therefore, after the capacity gap appeared this time, the relevant departments quickly notified some Daming Shipping companies with good cooperative relations to let them free up space.

The ships are temporarily added to the fleet under the name of the Ministry of Shipping.

As one of the shareholders of "Qiong Lianfa" and the only merchant specializing in maritime transportation among the twelve external shareholders, Zhan Gui naturally did his part for this kind of task. After receiving the notice from the Ministry of Shipping, Zhan Gui quickly ordered

His shopkeeper suspended the merchant ships that were going to Batavia and Guangzhou, and instead sent them to North Vietnam to transport rice and coal back from there.

This task seems simple, but for Zhan Gui, temporarily mobilizing ships will undoubtedly have to bear a certain amount of economic losses. The employment price given by the Ministry of Shipping is actually not enough to compensate for this loss. However,

Zhan Gui is not particularly concerned about how much money he will lose due to Haihan's temporary recruitment this time. He is more concerned about whether the relationship between his shipyard and Haihan's executive committee can be further deepened and strengthened.

If the early cooperation between the two parties was just to earn more economic benefits, then at this stage, Zhan Gui's considerations have gone far beyond the scope of how much money he can make. Not only is he now working in Sanya New City

Bian bought a real estate house and moved his family here, and his beloved youngest daughter Zhan Zheying was also sent to a Haihan school to study, and he was ready to spread his roots here.

Because Zhan Gui has been engaged in maritime trade and transportation for many years, he has been to many countries and regions and has seen the customs and customs of various places. From his perspective, he has to admit that the Sanya area under the control of the Haihan Executive Committee is

The most livable place he has ever seen. Even the bustling city of Guangzhou is far less comfortable than the small Sanya area. Not only is the natural environment beautiful, but the folk customs and public security are also excellent.

Very good, and more importantly, Zhan Gui can clearly feel that the Haihan Executive Committee's efforts to govern the local area are not to gain economic benefits, but to develop it as their own ruling area.

and construction. And this approach is gradually expanding outward as Haihan continues to grow.

As far as Zhan Gui knows, at least nearly one-third of the coastal area of ​​Qiongzhou Island has been actually controlled by Haihan. If it continues to develop at this rate, at most in the next two or three years, it is estimated that the entire Qiongzhou Island

The island has to change its surname to "Haihan". Although Zhan Gui was born in the Ming Dynasty, he does not have a particularly strong sense of belonging to his nationality because he has been active overseas all year round. Therefore, he is not convinced that Haihan may occupy the territory of the Ming Dynasty in the future.

I don't have a strong sense of rejection, but I have been thinking about whether the Haihan people will establish a new national government on Qiongzhou Island.

Zhan Gui has a clear understanding of the military power, especially the strength of the navy, in the hands of the Haihan Executive Committee. A layman sees the excitement, an expert sees the door. Zhan Gui has visited the operation process of the Victory Port Shipyard.

He also went to the Haihan warship to observe training. He knew very well that the combat effectiveness of the Haihan navy far exceeded the level of the Ming Navy. If a war broke out between the two sides in the future due to territorial disputes, there was a 90% chance that the Ming Dynasty would suffer a huge loss.

If you lose, you may even lose the right to own Qiongzhou Island completely because of the defeat.

Based on this understanding, Zhan Gui showed an obvious preference for Haihan, consciously increased investment in various business projects of "Qiong Lianfa", and began to actively participate in Haihan's various social activities.

Among affairs, for example, the selection of "public opinion representatives" only started in the first half of this year. Before most people understood the situation, Zhan Gui had already actively participated in it.

This "public opinion representative" is actually very similar to the squires and village elders promoted by the Ming Dynasty among the people. They are probably elected by the people with higher prestige as representatives, who are responsible for negotiating some civil affairs with relevant Haihan departments. This status

Naturally, there is no power at all, but for businessmen, it is undoubtedly a shortcut to improve social status. Of course, Zhan Gui does not have the status of a naturalized citizen of Haihan, so the interest groups he represents are only some foreign businessmen.

, crew and other people.

Moreover, after Zhan Gui became a "public opinion representative", he discovered that this status was not just a false title. The Ministry of Civil Affairs would often convene representatives to discuss matters at Fort Victory to convey some of the latest resolutions from the Executive Committee, and they would then convey them to

On the grassroots side. Of course, things are not in vain. Migrants like Zhan Gui have also received some very practical benefits because of their status.

Not to mention anything else, this identity has saved Zhan Gui a lot of money in the maritime trade. According to the regulations of the Ministry of Shipping, foreign ships need to charge a certain fee for maintenance at the Victory Port Shipyard, but as a

"Representatives of public opinion" fully enjoy the so-called "internal treatment" in this link, and the cost is only less than one-third of the external cost. Maritime merchants like Zhan Gui, who has dozens of large ships to his name, now

And with Shengli Port as the center of its trade network, the money saved on this project in one year is almost enough to buy a single-family villa in Sanya New City.

After tasting a certain amount of sweetness, Zhan Gui became more enthusiastic about participating in Haihan affairs. As soon as the notice from the Ministry of Shipping was posted at the end of May, he took the initiative to come to the door and was willing to allocate the ships under his name.

Come here and meet the shipping needs of the Shipping Department first.

Zhou Hengxing took the freight voucher handed over by Zhan Gui, looked at it carefully, and then pressed a small switch on the desk. Soon a naturalized citizen came in from outside, and Zhou Hengxing handed the freight voucher to him.

, and asked him to immediately take people to the dock to count the goods.

"Boss Zhan, sit down for a moment, I'll ask someone to make tea!" This is not the first time Zhou Hengxing has dealt with Zhan Gui. After he returned from Heitu Port, he served as the director of the Sanya Port Management Committee. Like Zhan Gui

Such large merchants are basically already familiar with each other.

"Director Zhou, you're very polite... By the way, I actually have something unclear, and I would like to ask Director Zhou for advice." Zhan Gui responded politely.

"Okay, tell me." Zhou Hengxing stopped what he was doing and looked up at Zhan Gui.

Zhan Gui said: "The thing is like this, I asked the Ministry of Shipping about custom-made merchant ships a few days ago, but Minister Yue of the Ministry of Shipping said that it requires a certificate from the civil affairs, port affairs and judicial authorities.

I really don’t understand how to handle this procedure, so I’d like to ask Director Zhou for some advice.”

"Buy a ship?" Zhou Hengxing asked in disbelief: "Can the shipyard now sell ships to external parties?"

"You can pay a deposit, but the delivery time needs to be discussed." Zhan Gui responded honestly: "I have long been interested in the 'Exploration Class' sailboat produced by the shipyard, but unfortunately the Ministry of Shipping has been saying that there is no construction time.

Merchant ships have no choice but to give up. However, the Ministry of Shipping has recently posted a notice saying that reservations for this 'exploration-class' merchant ship can begin."

Zhou Hengxing nodded slightly while listening. After Zhan Gui finished speaking, he said: "The Executive Committee has not yet issued the corresponding document on this matter. I can't figure out what the Executive Committee's attitude is now. I'll wait for it first."

Give me a call and ask.”

"I'll bother you later." Zhan Gui was very knowledgeable and immediately stood up to leave. He had seen the time traveler make phone calls many times, but in his opinion, this thing should be some kind of wonderful magic, although

The Haihan people didn't seem to be afraid of using this kind of telephony technique in front of them, but Zhan Gui thought it was better to stay away when the other party was casting spells.

However, his behavior undoubtedly increased his favorability in Zhou Hengxing's eyes. After he exited the office, Zhou Hengxing picked up the phone and dialed Yue Zhiyun's number, asking about ordering merchant ships. In fact, this was not Zhou Hengxing's.

The news is too limited. It is true that the Ministry of Shipping has just introduced a new policy and has not had time to coordinate with various departments one by one.

After a one-year process of expansion while producing at the same time, the Shengli Port Shipyard under the Ministry of Shipping has made greater progress in its shipbuilding capacity than before. The two largest slipways have begun to lay 1,000-ton ships.

The keel of the large ship is expected to be launched for sea trials early next year. The production of the smaller "Exploration-class" sailboat has been stopped for military use. The Navy will only order the larger 500-ton "Expedition-class" sailboat.

"Sailboat, and will be used as the main combat vessel of the Navy in the future.

As a result, several berths at the shipyard were vacated. When the Ministry of Shipping originally designed the "Exploration-class" sailing ship, it had fully considered the possibility of future civilian use, so it remodeled and built the "Exploration-class" merchant ship.

There has been a corresponding design plan for a long time. This kind of merchant ship has made certain modifications to the original hull structure, canceling the design of the artillery platform with a second-story deck, and designing the internal cabin into a structure with the cargo hold as the main body. At the same time, the warship model

The thick hull and ram angles and other facilities it possesses have been weakened and canceled.

Although this commercial version of the ship is only less than a quarter larger than the traditional Chinese sailboat with 400 materials, its cargo loading capacity far exceeds that of the Chinese sailboat, and due to the use of advanced hull shape and sail ropes

The system also has unparalleled advantages in sailing speed. The time required for the same voyage is more than twice as fast as that of a Chinese sailing ship. The most important thing is that this kind of merchant ship is also equipped with Haihan's exclusive steering wheel steering system.

This convenient driving facility is irresistible to Zhan Gui.

Although the ordering price of the "exploration-class" commercial version is obviously higher than that of a traditional Chinese sailboat, from the perspective of a professional maritime businessman like Zhan Gui, it is worthwhile to exchange money for performance advantages. If the Haihan people are willing to sell this

For an advanced sea-going ship, it is worthwhile to pay a higher price. After all, the longer you can pull it, the faster it will run. In the long run, it is much more cost-effective than using a traditional sailboat. Zhan Gui believes that using this new type of sailboat will only take one year at most.

In time, you can earn back the cost of buying a boat.

Of course, this kind of advanced sailboat cannot be bought with money. First, you must obtain the purchase qualification certification. This qualification certification is initiated by the Ministry of Shipping and jointly recognized by the shipping, civil affairs, justice, port affairs and other departments.

A restriction that comes into effect. To put it simply, foreign merchants who have not obtained unanimous approval from the above-mentioned departments are not qualified to order this new type of sailing ship even if they come with money. And if they are qualified to order this kind of merchant ship, they do not have enough funds.

, the Ministry of Shipping also stipulated that "Haihan Bank" can provide loan services to it, and the collateral is the merchant ship itself.

After the Ministry of Shipping announced relevant matters at that time, Zhan Gui had already decided to buy a few boats first. He had ridden on the Haihan sailboat more than once and was very impressed by its good seaworthiness and fast speed.

The sailing speed of the Haihan sailboat is more than twice that of a traditional Chinese sailboat. The time required for two trips on this high-end boat is almost the same as the time for one trip on a traditional sailboat. This is equivalent to reducing the freight by nearly half.

It is a very cost-effective means of transportation for professional maritime traders.

When Zhan Gui came to the door hurriedly with the banknotes from Haihan Bank, he heard that the qualification to buy a boat still needs to be applied for. Those who want to buy a boat must first go to the designated relevant departments to issue a certificate. The content of this certificate

The main purpose is to explain the cooperation status between the merchant and Haihan, local social relations, private industry, etc., to ensure that ship buyers will not use this new ship to do something detrimental to Haihan - such as transferring the ship to Haihan.

Then sell it to the Portuguese or Dutch at a high price.

Speaking of credibility, Zhan Gui, who has dual identities as a shareholder of "Qiong Lianfa" and a "public opinion representative" of Sanya New Town, is undoubtedly a standout among those who are qualified to purchase ships.
Chapter completed!