After the meeting between the traverser and Li Huamei, Li Huamei obtained the first maritime trade license from the traversing regime issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of three years. During this period, Li Huamei's "Hangzhou" could sail into Bobu Port at will and traverse.
The authorities waived berthing fees and water diversion fees, and all goods transported on board the Hangzhou were exempted from import duties. Goods shipped out were exempt from export duties except those listed in the "export control" list.
According to the agreement, Li Huamei obtained the Lingao-Goa trade monopoly for a period of one year. The import and export trade between the Crossing Group and Goa must be transported through her ships.
The Cross-Travel Group has restricted this clause, that is, the goods shipped by Li Huamei to Laigao must be transported according to the requirements of the travelers and the materials designated by the Cross-Travel Group. The price of the designated materials is designated by the Cross-Travel Group, and the maximum carrying capacity of the designated goods is not
If it exceeds one-fifth of the vessel's carrying capacity, Li Huamei will not be allowed to overload it if she voluntarily does so.
She can repair ships in Bopu and replenish various supplies needed for navigation. Crossing Group will supply food, gunpowder, artillery and necessary ship repair materials at prices. She also has the right to rent a house in Bopu for a long time.
Sailors and all persons approved by her can move in. No more than twelve people can stay in the house they rent.
In addition to assuming the obligation to designate goods, Li Huamei also made a commitment to train sailors for the Crossing Navy in Lingao for three years during the waiting period before the monsoon season every year. During the training period of the sailors, she and all her subordinates
The rent in Bopu is exempted.
If necessary, Li Huamei must undertake the mission designated by the traveler, and the traveler will pay according to the nature of the mission. The mission will only be carried out while she is waiting for the monsoon, and does not include military hostilities of any nature. If she encounters danger during the mission, in order
She has the right to abandon the cargo of the traverser. If she voluntarily participates in the conflict or the ship is damaged during the mission, the traverser group will compensate.
These complicated clauses were specified under the guidance of Ma Jia, which can be regarded as applying what he learned. Although he did not become the president of the Shanghai Maritime Court, he became the director of the customs. Naturally, his authority was limited to Bopu, and there was not much to do.
It's okay, because Li Huamei is the one who actually signed the trade agreement. Whether it's Gao Ji in Guangzhou or Huang Shunlong in Macau, they are all businessmen who are in charge of selling and not buying.
Li Huamei readily agreed to all the conditions, and it seemed that she was more advantageous. Especially Lingao-Goa's trade monopoly. As Li Siya expected, the Australians were eager to seek breakthroughs in foreign relations and began to
Quite attractive conditions were offered.
As for mirrors and glass, Li Huamei didn't take it too seriously. These things were also available in Goa, and the market in Goa was much smaller than that in Ming Dynasty. It was impossible to make a fortune from this, but there was another thing she saw that tempted her.
Already.
Snow white sugar.
Sugar trade is the most profitable business on international routes. Li Huamei knows that as long as she can transport such sugar to Goa, she can basically make a profit by selling one ship, and the business is guaranteed to make no loss, not to mention what they have to offer
The samples are far superior to ordinary products in terms of whiteness, and they are a hot commodity in Goa.
Not long after the agreement was signed, she received her first mission, driving the Hangzhou and participating in the exploration around the island with the team.
The fleet consists of the Zhenhai and Hangzhou. The Hangzhou was brought in to make up for the lack of transportation capacity. The travelers planned to collect all kinds of urgently needed industrial and agricultural materials along the way. It is always better to have multiple ships.
In order to ensure the reliability of the Hangzhou, the time traveler sent a navy team on board the ship in the name of protecting the safety of the Hangzhou. Li Huamei also agreed. In addition to Li Huamei's old acquaintance Li Haiping, the former Coast Guard instructor Gao Xiaosong was also sent on board.
As the captain of the dispatch team, he was selected because he was a soldier with a wife and was not as easy to be deceived by women with ulterior motives as an otaku. There were four time travelers from the special reconnaissance team and two
The squad's marines were 24 to 11. This advantage was enough to prevent any situation from happening.
Unexpectedly, this careful arrangement failed. Li Huamei took the initiative to ask to take the Zhenhai. The reason was that he could help steer the ship and teach everyone how to sail. As for his Hangzhou, he could let the first officer on the Hangzhou pilot the ship.
On the contrary, the committee seemed a bit stingy - Li Huamei made this request because she undoubtedly felt that she was not trusted and wanted to cast doubt on herself. Some people began to secretly accuse Wen Desi of being narrow-minded, and some even suggested that because he had been kidnapped by a local woman in the past,
Maybe it left some psychological shadow, so I always have a repulsive attitude towards such women.
Naturally, the executive committee ignored these rumors, but since Li Huamei was willing to go aboard the Zhenhai, she had to receive her well. She was given a separate room in the rear area of the ship, and was specially assigned to Wu De.
When Chu Yu came, he boarded the boat to serve him. In addition to taking care of daily life, he also had the purpose of surveillance.
The commander-in-chief of the remote exploration is Wang Luobin, because he has a lot of knowledge and extensive knowledge: he is from a farmer's family and knows a lot about industry. He is also a close comrade of President Wen. He is low-key and friendly, so he respects Wang Gong's work in every aspect.
The response has been relatively good. In fact, Wu De and Xi Yazhou are also suitable candidates, but the former has heavy civil affairs affairs and cannot be separated. The latter, because he is also the administrator of the internal bbs, is said to have deleted many Chuanzhong posts recently.
The public was very angry.
As for the Zhenhai itself, the number of people it carries is very complicated. The captain of the Zhenhai appointed Lin Chuanqing, and he accepted the appointment very happily. This ship is more than twice as big as the Dengyingzhou in the past. The pilot
It feels more fulfilling. The sailors are selected from the navy. The Zhenhai itself only requires 10 sailors to drive, and for the sake of safety, the number of sailors is set to 16. There are also naval cadets from the military and political training class in the national school
6 people - they came on board as trainees and accepted the first voyage in their naval careers.
People from various departments such as military, foreign affairs, trade, resources, and engineering were transferred to the ship, and some interns were also on board. They were mainly students in biology and exploration. In the end, there were more than 80 crew members on the Zhenhai.
, one-third of them are time-travelers, many of whom are experts in various fields, and they also bring a lot of professional equipment and equipment.
In order to prevent the occurrence of accidents to the greatest extent, each traveler is assigned a life-saving kit, including an inflatable life jacket, a trumpet, emergency life-saving supplies, and a Glock pistol for each person. Although they are not going to fight, they are still fully equipped.
The Zhenhai has a fixed radio station to keep in touch with the base, and the Hangzhou has also temporarily installed a radio to ensure the connection between the two ships.
While everyone was busy making preparations, a fat black man wearing a camouflage uniform with curly hair, small eyes and well-developed muscles came to the door of the Executive Committee building. He signed and registered to meet with Wen Desi.
"What's up?"
"Mr. Wen, I'm here to talk about the Zhenhai."
"Why isn't the Zhenhai equipped with a steam engine?" Li Chiqi got straight to the point.
"Oh? Why do you need to install a steam engine?" Wen Desi felt strange. Li Chiqi was the person in charge of the vehicle factory, and he couldn't get along with the sailing eight poles.
"It's a big deal!" Li Chiqi was a little excited, "Mr. Wen, you haven't thought about what Zhenhai will do if he encounters enemies when he goes to sea like this?"
"If you have cannons, just shoot them. Are our rifled cannons not as good as the enemy's smoothbore cannons?" Wen Desi knew that the artillery on the Zhenhai not only had solid shells such as armor-piercing projectiles, but was also equipped with grenades. This time and space can withstand its shelling.
ships do not exist in East Asian waters.
"This is true for a single ship against a single ship. But if you encounter the enemy fleet when you go out, it will be too late," Li Chi said anxiously, "Zhenhai is only 2 doors away. If you encounter four or five of the enemy's ships, it will be too late to maneuver the ship."
Veteran, you can't even run away. After all, our people's sailing skills are very poor. Several ships gained the upper hand and took turns to approach and bombard us. Our cannons can hit far, but they can't hit accurately. Even if they can hit accurately,
, kill one or two ships, and when others rush over to attack us, we are still dead! We don’t even have a chance to escape.”
"And this is our first self-built ship. If something goes wrong, the morale will be greatly damaged, and it will be even more serious if someone dies - the life of the time traveler is above all else!" Li Chiqi continued to persuade, "
If we put a Mozi-1 steam engine on the ship, whether it is a paddle wheel or a propeller, a 50-horsepower engine can run more than 8 knots without sails. If we really want to start a fight, fight if it is advantageous. If we can't win, just go to the ship.
If you run against the wind, no one can catch up."
"It's too late now. The cargo has been loaded, and the personnel have been fixed. If you want to install an engine, it involves ship modification, which is a very big project. It's a small matter to build a boiler and a steam engine.
The key is the boiler, steam engine and coal. Once these are put on the ship, the weight of the hull is completely wrong, and the hull structure must be greatly modified." He shook his head, "This is not something that can be over in a few days. The expedition team will have another day.
We have just set off. If we change it now, we will have to postpone it for at least a month. Time waits for no one."
"But this-"
"Let's discuss it again. What you said makes sense." Although Wen Desi did not directly approve his proposal, he knew that Li Chiqi was right and that the executive committee had indeed ignored this point.
The possibility of what Li Chiqi said is indeed unlikely, but if it encounters an enemy fleet, it will lose miserably. This is no different than the ship to Guangzhou. As long as there are sailors who are familiar with the sea conditions, there are harbors everywhere along the coast where you can take refuge.
Even if it is sunk or captured, the loss of personnel will be limited. The Zhenhai has gathered a large number of professional traversers. If the ship is destroyed and people are killed, it will be a major blow to the great cause of traversal.
Wen Desi struggled hard in the office for half an hour and then made a phone call to the Standing Committee members of the Executive Committee and the Workers' Capacity Committee.
"Come to the office, I have something to discuss."