With the active activities of the People's Committee on Agriculture and Ye Yuming's active activities in the Ministry of Colonial Trade, the idea of implementing a farming system on Hong Kong Island was finally approved by the Planning Institute. However, the establishment of a farming office by the Council of Agriculture was
The idea of an organization was rejected by the Organization Department. Minglang asked the Agricultural Committee to first submit a series of materials such as the specific reasons for establishment of the organization, organization establishment, organization operation process, staffing plan, etc. to the Agricultural Reclamation Department. Only after the materials are ready can the process be approved.
stage.
Minglang gave Wu Nanhai a pile of "standard materials" and asked him to fill in the report according to the format. Wu Nanhai naturally pushed this pile of materials to Ye Yuming - who told him to be so enthusiastic about the farming industry?
The organization has not been formally established, and the team has been set up first. Ye Yuming originally wanted to establish an organization similar to the Construction Corps, with a name such as the 17th Regiment of the 3rd Agricultural Division, but the army expressed different opinions on this. Dongmen Chuiyu said
It is possible for the agricultural reclamation system to use militarized organizational principles, and the Training Directorate can also provide necessary assistance, but it must be distinguished from the army in terms of organization and title.
It was finally decided that the official name of the agricultural reclamation system established in Hong Kong would be the "First Regiment of the First Division of Reclamation South China", and the public name would be the Reclamation Hong Kong Regiment.
"The level should be based on the past standards, which is the so-called county regiment level." Ye Yuming said.
Wu Nanhai said: "It doesn't matter what level you are at. Anyway, the first captain of the coalition should be a veteran. I'm just a little worried, where will the immigrants come from?"
Lingao itself is still absorbing a large number of immigrants, and with the establishment of control over the entire Hainan Island and the deepening of development, the demand for immigrants will only increase. Where can we find immigrants to fill the gap in Hong Kong?
Ye Yuming said: "Recruiting locally from Guangdong, Hong Kong's own population carrying capacity is not high, and its development potential is very limited. The indigenous people plus a small number of immigrants can meet Hong Kong's own needs."
Originally, the Planning Institute, the Ministry of Colonial Trade, the Ministry of Light Industry and the Ministry of Agriculture all had great expectations for Hong Kong. They hoped to build it into a model city similar to the Pearl of the Orient in the new era. But Wu De transferred old people from the Grand Library.
Several Hong Kong maps of this time and space, including urban traffic maps, geological maps, topographic maps, and the latest Hong Kong map of this time and space drawn by the exploration team were also taken for comparison. A group of analysts consulted the big book
All the information about Hong Kong's population, minerals, industry and agriculture in the museum turned out to be pitiful for the development potential of Hong Kong Island itself.
Hong Kong Island itself lacks open space, and flat land is basically concentrated along the coast of Victoria Bay. The long and narrow terrain makes it difficult to have enough land to supply industry and agriculture except for piers.
The most fatal problem is water shortage. Hong Kong Island itself mainly relies on several reservoirs built in mountainous areas to supply water. In the 20th century, the Hong Kong government vigorously protected mountainous vegetation, increased the water storage capacity of mountainous areas, and built multiple reservoirs in mountainous areas.
Reservoir. Even so, the water supply of Hong Kong Island itself can only barely be enough for port operation. In the 1960s, Hong Kong Island experienced a serious water shortage, and residents had to pay for water supply. Modern Hong Kong's water supply completely relies on pipeline transmission from the mainland.
Water can meet the needs of cities.
As a result, all parties who were originally ambitious to launch large-scale industry in Hong Kong, especially the shipbuilding industry, were discouraged. Industry is a large consumer of water, and without sufficient fresh water supply, production cannot operate. The industrial sector originally planned to build a large-scale industry in Hong Kong.
Build a shipyard on the island, use Guangdong's abundant labor and timber resources to carry out mass shipbuilding, and rapidly expand Lingao's transport fleet. Now it is found that the implementation of this plan is very difficult.
According to the estimates of planners from the Planning Institute, if you want to set up a shipyard in Hong Kong, you can only choose to build a shipyard on the north shore of Victoria Bay, that is, the Kowloon Tong area. However, the situation in Kowloon Tong is not much better than that of Hong Kong Island itself, and the local water sources are also insufficient to support
industry, and the flat land area is very limited.
Hong Kong is not a suitable place to engage in industry or agriculture. It lacks water, energy, and land - to be precise, it lacks flat land... Before 1949, Hong Kong's economic level was not only inferior to Shanghai, but also inferior to Guangzhou.
Quite a bit different. Hong Kong was able to become an international city and the "Pearl of the Orient" in the second half of the 20th century, relying on the huge benefits gained from being the only window for exchanges between China and the West after 1949, and also benefiting from the normal operation of the "window".
Continent’s energy, fresh water and grain and non-staple food supplies.
Of course, if you want to invest a lot of money in development, it is still possible to turn Hong Kong into an industrial and commercial base. However, after research, the Planning Institute believes that such an investment is of little value - the cross-border group situation will inevitably expand to Guangzhou before and after the end of the Second Five-Year Plan. In Guangzhou
No matter what kind of investment or construction you do, it will be much more convenient than in Hong Kong.
After convening several working meetings on Hong Kong development, Wu De determined that Hong Kong is positioned as a trade window, military base and logistics transfer center.
Hong Kong is geographically located at the mouth of the Pearl River. The fleet can use this as a base to shield the Pearl River and prevent hostile forces from attacking the Pearl River coast. At present, the officers and soldiers have been defeated by the elders, and the self-defense system of the villages along the coast has been destroyed. If pirates take advantage of the opportunity, they can sneak in.
, the economy and people's livelihood along the Pearl River will be severely damaged.
As a deterrent to Guangdong: if there is any abnormality in Guangzhou, the intervention fleet sent by Hong Kong can arrive at the gates of Guangzhou in one day and night. Compared with the long time in the past when receiving the news and setting off from Lingao, the response speed is greatly improved.
Hong Kong is in the middle of the route from Xiamen to Hainan. If the Zheng family's fleet wants to attack the Chuanzhong, it will be difficult to avoid the eyes and ears of the fleet stationed in Hong Kong. The Chuangzhong can get early warning. If the Chuangzhong wants to attack the Zheng family, Hong Kong is a good place.
With the advanced base, a large amount of supplies can be raised locally without having to be shipped from Hainan, and the supply line is shortened by half.
After this tone was set, the development plan of Hong Kong Island was reduced. In terms of industry, after the efforts of the Colonial and Trade Department, a shipyard project was finally retained. Using wood and manpower to mass-build transport ships nearby was of great significance to the Planning Institute.
Suhou is quite attractive, and the shipyard itself can also provide ship repair services for passing ships.
The Ministry of Light Industry originally planned to build a food processing factory in Hong Kong, but now it can only temporarily cancel it due to water shortage. The details will depend on the survey results of Hong Kong's freshwater resources by the exploration team. The agricultural reclamation plan is retained. The reclamation itself is a political issue.
Economically speaking, the settlements themselves also bear the task of garrisoning them.
Based on the topography of Hong Kong and Lingao's current economic scale and capabilities, the Planning Institute decided that Hong Kong's development areas will be mainly concentrated in the north and south of Victoria Bay. That is, the small impact plain in the north of Hong Kong and the gentle slopes in Kowloon Tong.
The naval patrol fleet currently stationed on Hong Kong Island has been officially reorganized into the Naval Hong Kong Squadron, and the Naval Hong Kong Base Team has been established in Hong Kong. It is stationed in Sai Wan on the south bank of Victoria Harbor. In terms of land defense, in addition to the Pearl River Estuary Detachment, which is already in Lei Yue Mun,
In addition to the outposts set up in Jishuimen, Fanguitang and other places, permanent fortresses were established at North Point and Longhu Mountain in the Western Ring Road, forming the first two east-west support points. The two support points were connected by simple roads for the troops.
Carry out maneuvers along the road and build several outposts along the road to make this road a line of defense for the development zone along the Victoria Bay.
The original 852 base in Central was expanded into a large trading base, with customs, warehouses, civil passenger and cargo terminals, fishery terminals, markets, shipyards and aquatic product processing plants.
Set up the Hong Kong Army and Navy headquarters, radio station, military warehouse and naval dock at the Lung Fu Shan military base in Sai Wan.
The supply of food, vegetables and poultry eggs on Hong Kong Island is mainly provided by the reclamation in Kowloon Tong. The Reclamation Wing will be distributed in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and outlying islands: Kowloon Tong, Tseung Kwan O, Kwai Chung, Sha Tin, Tai Po, Tung Chung and other places.
A fortified city with concentrated residences is built, mainly engaged in fishery production, vegetable planting and breeding. Each city serves as the headquarters of a farming brigade, and the brigade is divided into several squadrons or squads. Each squadron builds a village relying on gun towers. The reclamation team adopts
A system of all-people soldiers, with a basic militia. Not only immigrants from other places, but also all local villages will be "reclamationized". Smaller villages will be demerged and merged according to the principle of "village integration".
A large decontamination camp will be set up in the Tung Chung area of Lantau Island. Immigrants from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian will first be decontaminated here and then distributed to other places. Taiwan's development plan will soon be put on the agenda. In Lantau Island
The establishment of decontamination camps on the island will shorten the sea crossing time for immigrants.
The total strength of the garrison is one battalion-level garrison of the Army consisting of three infantry companies and one artillery company, one naval base team, and one naval squadron. The naval base team is organized into one naval company for rapid response.
"These troops are sufficient in the early stage." Dongmen Chuiyu explained the garrison plan. "There are also militiamen who can be mobilized at the settlement points. Even if they cannot serve as combat soldiers, they will still be enough to serve as miscellaneous soldiers and logistics."
Skade proposed: In the current situation of insufficient military strength, in addition to armed farm workers, a group of Li and Miao mercenaries can also be recruited. 5 to 6 companies can be recruited and stationed at various mountain passes in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island as mountain security forces.
Block the passage for the Ming army or large groups of pirates to invade. As for the weapons, they can be simplified: crossbows, machetes, and a few grenades.
"There are five to six hundred Li and Miao people, and they should be organized separately. I don't think it's appropriate." Wu Nanhai immediately objected, "Even if they are to be recruited, they should be dispersed in the army to serve."
"We'll discuss this issue later," Dongmen Chuiyu said, "I'm afraid it's not that simple to utilize the Li and Miao population."