Hainan Island does not produce silk products - this is the favorite goods of the Dutch. Skade thought, maybe we can also follow the example of the Dutch and engage in intermediary trade. We import silk fabrics and porcelain from the mainland on a large scale and then sell them to the Dutch.
The Dutch have always suffered from Zheng Zhilong's strict control over coastal trade, because the silk fabrics sold to the Dutch by the monopoly Zheng Zhilong were very expensive and could not satisfy the Dutch's desire to make super profits.
What if we sell to the Dutch? Skade came up with this idea. As long as the price is slightly cheaper, the Dutch will come to Lingao to purchase silk. Or let them go directly to Sanya Port for trading.
Of course, considering that the Ming Dynasty itself had a very large demand for spices, letting the Dutch transport spices would be a way to fill the shortage of export materials in Lingao. The Dutch have used violence to monopolize the export and sales of spices in the Molucca Islands.
The spices in the country are very expensive. However, Zheng Zhilong and others are willing to accept spices from the Dutch as trade goods. Obviously, the profits from selling them to the mainland are still considerable. Can we also make this profit?
Skade took a pencil and scribbled on the paper, thinking about how to force the Dutch to sign an unequal treaty and how to make the contents of the treaty as beneficial to themselves as possible. The quarantine period was about to end tomorrow.
While he was thinking hard, the phone rang again: someone reported that a telegram had been sent from Hongji Station.
"The trading station in Hongji was attacked by bandits!" the voice on the phone said urgently.
"What?!" Skade shouted involuntarily. The female secretary who was always waiting for orders outside the door immediately opened the door and came in. Skade waved to her and let her out, "What's going on? There are casualties.
No."
"The specific situation is unclear. The telegram said that the trading station is currently safe and the bandits have been repelled." The indigenous clerk responsible for exchanging intelligence said nervously on the phone.
"Send the telegram up immediately. Hurry!" What Sikaide is most worried about is the safety of Hongji Station - you must know that the development of Hongji is what he strongly advocates. In case anything happens to Hongji, such as Bei Kai being attacked by a monkey
If they kill or capture him, he will not be able to be re-elected as Minister of Colonization and Trade. At most, he will always be the Chief Secretary of the Department of Colonization and Trade.
The telegram was immediately delivered by the clerk who was running all the way. Skade grabbed the phone and took a look. There were only a few words on it. There were only a few more words than what the clerk dictated.
"This is a bullshit telegram! It doesn't explain anything clearly." Skade went crazy, "Quickly, send a message to ask about the specific situation of Hongji Station. Do you want reinforcements immediately?"
Skade issued instructions in a flurry, and then picked up the phone: "Answer the Navy Command!"
Bekai has spent nearly two months in Yalong Bay.
In the past two months, for the first time, he was truly in charge of the situation and was separated from the command of his direct leader. It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but as time went by, he became more and more into the role.
The first week was the most difficult for Ao. He stayed in a small enclosure, surrounded by 30 sailors, a life secretary and 5 prisoners. The life secretary did not get a number above C level at first, and originally thought he would buy a C level number.
There was always no problem, but when I slowly went to "look at the goods", I discovered to my dismay that the C-class ones had already been sold out, and even the D-class ones were barely left. Bekai bought one with the attitude of it being better than nothing.
In the past, life secretaries had undergone special training and were more pleasant than the female naturalized citizens who came out of the quarantine camp.
On this deserted beach, apart from 36 people, all that can be seen are the wild mountains and wild mountains outside. Although the scenery of Yalong Bay is picturesque, it still feels ferocious to Beikai - not only
Once, he looked at a captured pirate fishing boat that Yan Maoda left for them when he left, and estimated whether this boat could safely take them to Haiyang if something happened - crossing the Beibu Gulf he felt a bit uncertain.
.
The Zhennan originally said it would be back in three or four days, but in fact it took a whole week. Zhang Dascara returned with the Zhennan, which reassured Bei Kai - this old pirate was very familiar with the situation in Vietnam, and he had some weapons in his hand.
With such a powerful ship, ordinary thieves and pirates have nothing to fear.
The Zhennan ship brought him a lot of rice and daily groceries from Haiyang, and also brought him more than a hundred haggard farmers from Beiqi. These were all farmers who fled because of the excessive expropriation and conscription of the Northern Dynasty. Yan Maoda
Recruited them all at a very low cost.
These Beiqi farmers and five pirate captives became the first batch of miners in the Hongji Coal Mine. Now that there was enough food, tools and building materials in the warehouse, Bekai immediately started a large-scale construction project in Hongji
.
Bekay organized the miners to set up a separate labor camp outside the bastion. The accommodation was a simple semi-underground shack. A trench was dug outside as a simple defensive measure.
The miners immediately started digging into the Maoshi No. 1 mine. Each worker used the tools provided by Bekai to dig, and the excavated coal was put in baskets and transported to the seaside on purple electric trolleys, where it was piled next to the dock.
Waiting to be transported away in the open space. Although Yan Maoda did not instruct him to start digging coal immediately. But Bekai believed that if the first ship from Lingao could be returned without being empty, it would greatly improve his reputation in the Senate.
the benefits of.
Becky found that a miner can dig 50 kilograms an hour using simple iron tools and carry it to the yard with a basket or a cart. Even if a miner works 10 hours a day, the coal production per person per day can reach half a ton.
.
Another week later, two transport ships from the *** Shipping Company arrived at Hongji. In addition to bringing more construction materials and tools, they also brought a hundred naturalized laborers. These workers will serve as Hongji.
The core force of the base station is used. In addition to basic laborers, this group of people also has a small number of trained clerks, hygienists and some skilled workers, including blacksmiths and carpenters.
The number of workers doubled, and things got done faster. The workers built a wooden trestle with prefabricated parts. The original earth fence was also expanded - a second earth embankment and trench were built around the earth fence. New
The area occupied by the earth embankment circle was greatly increased, forming a so-called "barbaric". The residences of naturalized migrant workers, administrative facilities, warehouses and other buildings were located in the barbaric. Six 24-pound doors were also unloaded from the ship.
Cannons and naturalized migrant workers were all equipped with the standard militia kit: helmets, standard spears and machetes, which greatly increased Bekai's sense of security.
The *** shipping ship loaded more than a hundred tons of anthracite on its return trip. Although the quantity was small, it had great symbolic significance. Skade boasted about this matter at the Executive Committee meeting and the Senate.
The news also appeared in the "Lingao Times". After receiving the news, Bei Kai had both joy and worry: now he had to "produce coal to serve the country" here.
With the naturalized workers and indigenous managers as the backbone, Bekai reorganized the work process. The naturalized workers immediately began to build a small light railway that extended from the coal yard to the Maoshi No. 1 mine.
It's an ore bucket truck shipped from Lingao. The miners are now working in groups, and their efficiency has been greatly improved: a team of 3 people using shovels to dig coal can quickly fill a bucket truck with a load of 200kg. And one person can
Can quickly get this truck of coal to the yard. There are 3 bucket lathe workers and 3 shovel workers. Based on a 10-hour work day, 7 to 8 tons of coal can be obtained. On average, each person includes naturalized migrant workers.
, there are about 200 people working in the mine. The daily coal output can reach more than 250 tons. This coal output is enough for *** Shipping to open a dedicated coal transportation line. The Qionghai Coal ship has finally become worthy of its name.
job and became a special ship for transporting coal.
The surge in coal transportation volume made the loading and unloading of coal at Hongji a bottleneck. Qionghai Coal quickly shipped steam engines, boilers and bucket elevators. Then, in order to supply clean drinking water to the workers, another
Large fixed water filter.
Then more naturalized migrant workers were sent - the development of Hongji was like a snowball. After the scale expanded, the demand for manpower began to emerge. People were needed to build houses, build tracks, maintain machinery and equipment, and load and unload.
goods, and even cooking... By the end of February 1631, the number of laborers in Hongji had expanded to 600. More than 200 of them were naturalized people, and the others were recruited from Beiqi. Many could not bear the tax and military service.
The exploited people were sent here one after another from the recruitment station in Haiyang, and some came over the mountains on their own after hearing the news.
The increasing number of local miners and their families in Beiqi soon formed a simple settlement outside the barbican. The settlement was surrounded by a trench and a bamboo fence with a sharpened top for protection. Between the miners' settlement and the barbican
, is a sidewalk paved with cinders and coal gangue. The cooperative has opened a large canteen next to the sidewalk. In order to improve the efficiency of the workers and make full use of the labor force, it is obviously a waste of time to let them cook by themselves; a small restaurant that provides relatively high-end food and alcohol.
Restaurants and cooperative shops: various commodities are sold in them. The surge in the number of miners attracted the commercial sector. Li Mei personally came to Hongji to open a cooperative branch at Hongji Station according to the model in Nanbao. In addition to selling various commodities, it also handled exchange services.
The main purpose is to promote the use of circulating coupons.
In Hongjibao, in the other direction of the miners' settlement, there is a small settlement. It is a place where new people recruited from the local area live - this is the quarantine camp of Hongji Station. People living in the quarantine camp enjoy free meals and their work
It is to build roads to ensure that there is no contact with other miners.