Chapter 535 Blockade in disguise

What the merchants were concerned about was not how much damage Haihan would do to the Ming Dynasty after he took over the Qiongzhou government, but how much their own interests would be affected. At that moment, someone raised their hands and asked, Haihan's three-month blockade period

, whether even merchant ships entering and leaving Qiongzhou Island should be banned.

Schneider responded: "This issue is beyond the jurisdiction of the Haihan Ministry of Commerce. So we are fortunate to invite Major Chen Yixin from the Haihan Militia. Next, he will explain to you the recent navigation rules of Qiongzhou Island."

Schneider nodded sideways, and Chen Yixin walked quickly to the stage. Many businessmen present recognized this young Haihan officer. He had been managing the Wanshan Port in the west since it was built. The year before last

At the end of the year, he became famous due to his victory over Liu Xiang's pirate gang. Most maritime merchants who have been to Wanshan Port have had direct dealings with him.

During this "Operation Prairie Fire", Chen Yixin did not return to Qiongzhou Island to participate in combat missions. Instead, he followed the orders of the Military Commission and stayed in the Pearl River Estuary area, preparing to assist personnel from the Guangdong Office in Guangzhou to evacuate to the mainland if the situation worsened.

Fortunately, the operation on Qiongzhou Island went smoothly. After the navy immediately blocked the main port channel in Qiongbei, the officials on the mainland were completely blind, and the information they could get about the progress of the war was basically

They all came from Haihan. After the situation was effectively controlled, there was no need for emergency evacuation by the Guangdong Office. The burden on Chen Yixin was relieved, and he could still spare a day or two to attend the "Qiong" event in Zhennan Port.

Lianfa’s general meeting of shareholders.

Of course, his attendance was not a personal act. He also accepted the orders of the Military Commission and cooperated with the Ministry of Commerce. The maritime blockade of Qiongbei will definitely last for a period of time, but if the ship schedules among many merchants are not coordinated well, Haihan's

The economy will also be greatly harmed.

Chen Yixin stood on the stage and said in a deep voice: "President Shi also mentioned just now that there are still some pirates who have escaped in the north of Qiongzhou Island. In order to annihilate these people and prevent the pirates from coming back, the Haihan Militia will attack the port of Qiongzhou Island.

and surrounding waters. However, taking into account the trade needs of various maritime merchants, we will also open corresponding dedicated wharves for your sailboats to dock in the port."

When Chen Yixin said these words, everyone present let out a sigh of relief. If sea trade with Qiongzhou Island really had to be suspended for three months, it would have a huge impact on them. Especially those merchants who specialize in Haihan products.

Being out of stock for so long is simply forcing them to jump off a cliff.

"...During the blockade period, merchant ships and civilian ships going to Qiongzhou Island must report in advance at Wanshan Port or Zhennan Port, undergo inspection, and receive special passage certificates. Qiongzhou Island is only open to Haikou Port near Fucheng, and south

Victory Port and Sanya Port, ships going to Qiongzhou Island are not allowed to dock at other ports, otherwise they will be suspected of colluding with pirates!" Chen Yixin looked at the participants in the audience with stern eyes, and emphasized: "If we find that entering or leaving Qiongzhou Island

If there is a person with a suspicious identity on the boat, they will be detained together with the boat, without exception! Now we have to say hello in front of us. If something happens when the situation arises, we should not blame our Haihan militia!

"

Seeing the silence of the participants in the audience, Chen Yixin opened the document book in his hand with satisfaction and began to read out the specific regulations. The no-navigation rules formulated by the Ministry of Shipping and the militia have made extraordinary changes to ships entering and leaving Qiongzhou Island recently.

The purpose of the strict regulations is not entirely to block information, but to prevent people from local government officials from taking the opportunity to flee and report to the Guangdong government.

People who are also likely to leak information include businessmen and sailors traveling between the two places. Militia groups also have corresponding means. Crews can only move at designated docking docks, and the scope of activities of general maritime merchants will also be limited.

Within the scope of the port - in this area, apart from the Haihan people, the only people they can come into contact with are naturalized people, and they don't even have the opportunity to contact the local people. Only some big businessmen supported by Haihan

, have the opportunity to leave these restricted activity areas. Of course, their activities during this period will still be followed and monitored by people from the Ministry of Security and the military.

Of course, the businessmen present had no ability to fight against this. Even if they were not convinced by such an arrangement, they did not dare to show it on their faces. After all, these are extraordinary times. As long as they can ensure that business continues and money continues to come in, then

Being a little aggrieved and inconvenienced is not a big deal. All said and done, compared with the attitude of the Ming Dynasty officials, Haihan's attitude is much better. When the Ming Dynasty officials want to take action against businessmen,

They will not be as patient as the Haihan people in giving face-to-face explanations.

"...The above terms are effective today. I hope everyone in the business community will be aware of them. If you are still unclear about the provisions, you can consult the Port Management Committee at the Haihan port." Chen Yixin closed the document book and said to Taiwan

The businessmen below said: "I would like to emphasize one last time that merchant ships and civilian ships entering and leaving Qiongzhou Island recently must abide by the regulations I just read out, otherwise they may be treated as pirate accomplices!"

After Schneider announced that today's meeting was over, the crowd in the meeting began to discuss the blockbuster news they had just received. However, some people with flexible minds had already stood up and stepped forward, trying to stop Schneider to ask what happened.

But these people failed to stop Schneider. Before that, several militiamen came over and stopped them. Schneider waved his hands unhurriedly and said: "Don't be anxious, everyone. I will be at Zhennan Port for the next two days."

I’m at work and I’ll answer your questions by the way. If you have any questions, you can come to my office tomorrow morning.”

Chen Yixin followed Schneider silently. After walking out of the venue, Schneider stopped and said to him: "Zhennangang will temporarily implement martial law for the next few days. Thank you for your hard work!"

Chen Yixin smiled and said: "It's my responsibility, there's nothing to say."

"According to our estimates, there may still be a small number of merchants who will choose to withdraw. These people will probably leave Zhennangang in the next day or two. You have to keep an eye on it." Schneider warned: "These people want to use Haihan as a trap.

The problem is that they are afraid that after they get out of the trap, they will come back and reveal things that should be said but should not be said to the government."

"I understand. I will keep records and communicate with the Ministry of Security in a timely manner." Chen Yixin put away the smile on his face, nodded and said, "Minister He sent a telegram two days ago and specifically emphasized this matter."

As Schneider expected, the news announced by Haihan still had a certain impact on Daming Maritime Business. Already that night, some businessmen expressed their hope to temporarily suspend cooperation and return after the situation on Qiongzhou Island stabilized. However, those who made such a statement

The merchants are peripheral customers with a relatively low degree of cooperation with Haihan and a small trade scale. The Ministry of Commerce does not care too much about the economic losses caused by the interruption of trade.

The vast majority of maritime merchants still chose to stay in Zhennang Port. Even some merchants who felt uneasy about the future prospects decided to listen to Schneider's answers to their questions before considering whether to continue or withdraw.

From early the next morning, the business inn where Schneider stayed became bustling with people. Almost all the merchants who came to Zhennangang to attend the shareholders' meeting came and lined up to wait for Schneider's interview. Most of them were

I hope to get more safety guarantees from Schneider, and there are also some people who want to take this opportunity to bargain with Haihan and renegotiate trade standards.

The originally scheduled two-day Q&A session had to be extended for another two days because the merchants had too many questions. By the time Schneider finished handling this matter and returned to Sanya, it was already December 1630.

Originally, Schneider could have stayed in Zhennan Port for a few more days, but the reason why he hurried back was because he, the financial director, needed to come back to participate in the annual budget and final accounts meeting.

"...There are so many infrastructure projects this year that the Ministry of Construction can't arrange enough people, and the investment has exceeded the situation in the previous two years. According to the data provided by the Ministry of Construction, the budget for infrastructure projects formulated last year has been overrun by 35%.

, many infrastructure projects in Qiongbei will also require a lot of investment in the coming year. Although we have sold some shares to the outside world through 'Qiong Lianfa', most of the project costs still need to be borne by ourselves. Only Wenchang, which is planned,

The total construction funds required for the three ports in Haikou and Danzhou exceed 300,000 yuan. In addition, several ports in southern Annan will also undergo large-scale construction next year. Therefore, next year's infrastructure project budget must also be based on the actual situation.

Make an upward adjustment..."

Tao Donglai read out the draft budget at the meeting on behalf of the Ministry of Construction, hoping to increase the budget for infrastructure projects by another 50% from last year's baseline. After Tao Donglai, it was Yan Chujie of the military who read out the draft budget.

The budget figure is not much more polite than that of Tao Donglai - the military hopes that the military budget for the coming year will at least double that of this year.

"Double? This is impossible!" Before Yan Chujie could finish reading the materials in his hand, Gu Kai was the first to object: "Dear Commander-in-Chief Yan, haven't you noticed that we failed to pass the exam all last year?

The war has achieved direct economic benefits, and now no opponent in the entire South China Sea can threaten us with force. Under such circumstances, continuing to blindly expand our military will only increase our fiscal deficit!"

Yan Chujie responded calmly: "I would like to remind you that the military spending of the militia in the coming year will be significantly tilted towards the navy, because as our sphere of influence continues to expand, the existing fleet size can no longer effectively

To protect our maritime territory and routes, it is imperative to expand the size of the fleet, and this is not something that is based on our personal will."

At this point, Yan Chujie ignored the angry Gu Kai, stood up and walked to the map of the South China Sea hanging on the wall of the conference room. He pointed at the map and explained to the participants: "Everyone, please take a look at our naval activities before this."

The areas are mainly in the Pearl River Estuary, Beibu Gulf on the Annan side, and the western and southern coastal areas of Hainan Island. If it were just the previous control area, then I admit that the existing three incomplete fleets seem to be able to barely complete the task of guarding the sea.

Security mission. But the problem is that our pace will not stop here. In the next year, we can foresee that the navy must at least be able to maintain the security of the entire sea area around Hainan Island, especially the Qiongzhou Strait.

This task alone is enough to stretch the existing fleet. In addition, I must remind everyone here that due to limitations in military spending, we have only completed two of the three planned flagships so far, and the Annan fleet has even

We are still in a situation without a main flagship. And only three majestic-class gunboats cannot meet the needs of the navy. They must at least double the number in the coming year!"

"Aren't three main gunboats enough for the navy?" Ning Qi also asked: "We don't have any strong maritime opponents in a short period of time that require so many warships to deal with, right?"

"It's not just a matter of combat, it also involves the training of the entire naval combat system and the need to maintain combat effectiveness." Yan Chujie patiently explained: "Because the steam propulsion system is used on the Majestic-class warship, its combat capabilities have been enhanced.

At the same time, the maintenance and upkeep of the mechanical system has become a new problem. According to the current actual operating conditions, after every three to four months of sea missions, the Majestic-class warship must return to its home port to repair the ship.

The steam power system needs to undergo comprehensive maintenance, and this maintenance process can take as little as half a month, or it can be slower. During this period, the combat effectiveness of the entire fleet will also be greatly reduced. If we want to avoid this

In this situation, a rotating main battleship must be deployed."

"In addition, due to the particularity of the steam propulsion system, there will be relatively high requirements for the operators on the ship. Currently, there is no corresponding training content in the navy's training ships. You can imagine the reason. In order to be able to continuously provide

For the navy to provide qualified sailors, the training department must have at least one warship of the same level as a training ship. After all, the nature of steam engines is special, and it is not possible to just find a Chinese sailboat as a substitute for training." Yan Chujie

He laid out his reasons one by one without haste: "The third reason..."

Yan Chujie pointed to the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula: "We have promised to the Ming Dynasty merchants that we will open commercial routes to Nanyang, so our fleet must also be able to have a larger range of activities. In addition to Cam Ranh Bay in southern Annan

, we probably still need to build one or two long-term strongholds between the Indochina Peninsula and several key areas in Southeast Asia."
Chapter completed!