Chapter 1043 The situation in Zhejiang

The last time the large Haihan fleet passed through the sea outside Wenzhou was probably back a year ago. At that time, the fleet led by Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen went north to Zhoushan, and along the way they also cleared out pirate gangs near the coast, including the Yueqing Ship Gang operating in the waters north of Wenzhou and south of Taizhou, as well as some sporadic small groups of pirates nearby. After these pirates were wiped out, the navigation safety situation in the nearby waters was significantly improved, so local sea merchants and fishermen were somewhat grateful for the "righteous acts" of Haihan, and were also willing to contact the Haihan fleet passing here to carry out some simple trade activities.

Of course, now a year has passed, it is no longer news that Haihan has opened a port in Zhoushan. When local maritime merchants want to trade with Haihan, they will still choose to go to Zhoushan Dinghai Port for transactions. There is no supervision by the Ming government, but they can easily trade with Ningbo Prefecture, Shaoxing Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture, Jiaxing Prefecture, Songjiang Prefecture and other places, and can also re-export trade with merchants from Japan and Ryukyu in the local area. For maritime merchants, it is a business port with excellent trade terms and geographical location.

After the fleet rested on Dongtou Island for two days, the weather finally improved, and Wang Tom ordered the sailing to continue northward. However, the scale of the fleet was much larger than when it came, because at least a dozen civilian ships joined the fleet. The destinations of these ships were Dinghai Port in Zhoushan. Joining the fleet heading north by Haihan, this trip of about 200 nautical miles would naturally be much more at ease. Although there were no pirate forces during this voyage, it was at least a great psychological comfort to be able to follow Haihan's warships. If there was something happening at sea, so many ships could take care of them.

"Are you worried that the government would be mixed with the eyes and ears of the government?" Hao Wanqing looked at the long long ship on the sea behind the fleet and asked Wang Tom in confusion. He was not used to the sea storm, so he rested in Hong Kong for a few days until Wang Tom's troops returned to Penghu after the battle in Miaoli, and then rushed over to meet with the main force. However, over the past few days, he had basically adapted to the bumps of sailing at sea. His current physical condition was no longer as bad as when he was from Sanya to Hong Kong before.

Wang Tom responded in a deep voice: "What can the government do if we know? The more they know, the more they will know how much the gap is with our strength. I don't think this is a bad thing, maybe it's better than hiding our lies."

Wang Tom was very calm about this. Hai Han used to act in a low-key manner, on the one hand, he hid his own strength to facilitate his behavior, and on the other hand, he did not want to attract too much attention from the Ming court. However, now Hai Han has established a country in the South China Sea, and the future dealings with the Ming Dynasty will no longer be the vague business exchanges of the past, but the diplomatic relations between countries. Although some people believe that high-profile behavior may anger the Ming Dynasty and affect bilateral relations, the military believes that if the previous low-key situation is still maintained under this new situation, it will actually be of no practical benefit to Hai Han.

After hearing Wang Tom's explanation, Hao Wanqing responded thoughtfully: "The Ministry of National Defense should not want Hai Han to have too harmonious relations with the Ming court, right?"

Wang Tom smiled and did not respond to his question positively, but kicked the ball back: "What is the attitude of the Ministry of Security? Can Minister Hao explain it to me?"

Hao Wanqing said: "Of course our Ministry of Security hopes that the world will be peaceful, so that everyone can relax."

"If the world is really peaceful, your industry will be unemployed, right?" Wang Tom smiled and continued without waiting for Hao Wanqing to respond: "When you arrive in Zhoushan in two days, I guess you will be busy."

After occupying Zhoushan Island, Hai Han has been fighting with local governments and pirates and civilian armed forces in the surrounding waters. After this year's struggle, the pirate forces operating outside the Hangzhou Bay have basically been killed by the Hai Han army, and the opponents in the Zhejiang officialdom seem to have been restrained a lot. Especially after the commander of Hai Ning Guard Ma Yue died inexplicably at sea, his accomplices did not dare to rashly attack the Hai Han merchant ships, and instead adopted a more concealed confrontation method.

There has been a relatively obvious camp distribution in the officialdom of Zhejiang. The governments in Ningbo, Taizhou, Shaoxing and Jiaxing, which are close to Zhoushan, have gained a lot of benefits from the arrival of Haihan, and are more inclined to maintain mutually beneficial trade with Haihan. However, the nature of diplomatic relations is deliberately vague and treated them only as overseas Chinese. However, the governments in Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jinhua and other places are more conservative, believing that the private armed forces with an astonishing scale of Haihan people are in a rebellious spirit. If they do not abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they should be completely expelled from the border of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the military's attitude, it was even more diverse. Some hated Hai Han for occupying Zhoushan and cut off his own wealth, some were not concerned about his own affairs, and some had already entered the waters and took the initiative to join Hai Han to make money together. Although the Dushi Yamen, the highest military command center in Zhejiang, the attitude of the local garrisons below was relatively hostile to Hai Han, but the local garrisons below were not obedient. After all, the actual benefits that Zhejiang Dushi can give are limited, far less generous than the Han people in Shanghai. It is normal for those who work below to lie to the official documents issued by the Dushi Yamen.

For open and secret battles with Zhejiang officials, the military can actually not have many countermeasures, especially those that are not open, which can easily become unlimited and there is no room for the military to deal with, and there is also a lack of professional personnel to operate. Therefore, affairs in this field are still handled by the Ministry of Security.

Last year, He Xi sent Gong Shiqi, one of his most capable subordinates, to Zhejiang to be responsible for security and intelligence affairs. However, Gong Shiqi is a naturalized civilian. Although his loyalty is unquestionable and his personal ability is relatively strong, he has not had a long-term study experience in Haihan. In other words, his style of work is a bit wild, so Sanya still has certain restrictions on his movement authority. After Hao Wanqing arrived in Zhejiang, the local intelligence work arrangements did not require Sanya to ask for instructions on everything. With him, he could make a decision directly.

Of course, Hao Wanqing's final destination was not Zhejiang. After sorting out the local work, he would also go north with the Haihan army to the Jiaodong Peninsula. Although his Shandong origin did not play much practical role in this era, it is undeniable that this is also one of the main reasons why the Executive Committee transferred him to the north to preside over the intelligence work.

After entering the jurisdiction of Ningbo Prefecture, the fleet chose Shipu Port as the last stop before arriving in Zhoushan. Last year, the Haihan army entered Ningbo Prefecture, and the Shipu Office and the Harbor in the jurisdiction were the first to be captured. However, the Ming army system here was not completely destroyed. In name, Shipu Port was still the defense area of ​​the Shipu Office of Changguowei, and the organization of Qianhu Office was still retained, and there was no change in the official position of Qianhu Ma Ling. However, the boss Ma Ling had to face, in addition to the commander of Changguowei, there were more Haihan leaders on Zhoushan Island.

When Wang Tom and others got off the ship, Qianhu Ma Ling was already waiting respectfully on the dock. Although he didn't know what the purpose of this huge fleet came to Shipu Port, Ma Ling was not afraid because he knew that he had done a lot for Haihan this year, and Haihan people would not easily unarm the donkey and kill the donkey to attack him. Besides, Haihan people also needed the official organization of Shipu Institute to manage and maintain this area on their behalf. Many things that Haihans were not convenient for Haihans to deal with must be done by him, Qianhu.

Taking a step back, Hai Hanzhen planned to do anything to him. As long as he had a summon, he would have to rush to Zhoushan Island to obey the orders. There was no need to dispatch a fleet to suppress it. So even though this Hai Han fleet suddenly appeared in Shipu Port, Ma Ling did not panic about it.

"Ma Ling, a thousand households in Shipu, please see all the leaders!" Ma Ling bowed and clasped his fists, his body was like a shrimp. Although he did not kneel down, his attitude was very respectful. He did not recognize the high-ranking official of Haihan, but he recognized the two "magnificent" warships clearly visible at the port terminal. He could lead such a huge fleet to sail. When he got off the ship, he was surrounded by armed personnel. He could tell that the status of these people was not low, and it was always right to call the leader.

"Ma Qianhu is not given a gift." Wang Tom smiled and helped him. Next to him was the staff of Hai Han stationed in Shipu Port, who had already explained Ma Ling's identity to him. For Ma Ling's Ming officials who chose to surrender to Hai Han, Wang Tom would try his best to make himself appear kinder, which would have some comforting effect.

"Ma Qianhu, we want to rest here for a night. You organize personnel to arrange campsites for the fleet."

As soon as Ma Ling saw the man who spoke, he recognized him, and immediately responded: "As long as General Chen's orders!"

When Chen Yixin was stationed on Zhoushan Island last year, Ma Ling met him when he went to work in the local business. He knew that this young general named Chen was the most trusted deputy of Marshal Qian, led by Hai Han. However, when he went to Zhoushan Island two months ago, he did not see him again.

Ma Ling immediately ordered people to clear out the nearby wharf. As a night camp for the Haihan Fleet personnel, he asked someone to immediately organize the transport of supplies to the wharf. If he hadn't known his identity, Wang Tom and others would probably think he was a naturalized cadre.

The natural environment and port conditions in the Shipu Port area are actually good, but Haihan currently focuses on Zhoushan for development, so there has not been a large-scale commercial development in Shipu. At present, the industry here is still mainly fishing. Haihan organized people to build a small shipyard nearby, specializing in medium-sized and large-scale fishing boats, and provide corresponding fishing gear so that fishermen can go to further sea areas to catch fish.

For those fishermen with limited families and cannot afford high-end fishing boats, Haihan also provides a variety of cooperation methods. Fishermen can apply for leasing fishing boats from Haihan based on their household registration, land, houses, etc. as collateral, and then pay the rent with the benefits obtained. The bold fishermen can even apply for installment loans from Haihan Bank to purchase boats to get their own ocean fishing boats. Although they also have to bear some interest for this, Haihan Bank's low-interest loans are much more merciful than private lending, and for most fishermen, they are considered to be within an affordable range.

This model, which has been operating in Hainan, Guangdong, Fujian and other places for a long time, has achieved relatively good results in the promotion of Shipu. In the eight months since the completion of the Shipu Shipyard, more than 40 fishing boats of various types have been delivered to fishermen, and more than 20 unfinished orders have not only promoted the development of local fishery, but also revitalized a shipyard. Haihan does not expect this shipyard to make much profit from fishing boat orders. The benefit that relevant departments value the most is the benefit that can use this model to train professional and technical personnel for Haihan Shipyard industry.

According to Hai Han's past operating experience, most of these craftsmen who entered the shipyard would decide to become naturalized in Hai Han within three months to six months in exchange for higher income and better benefits. Compared with the turbulent Ming Dynasty, Hai Han, which can provide stable living conditions, is undoubtedly an attractive place for ordinary people. However, craftsmen with skills are less difficult to obtain the Hai Han native place than ordinary people, so even in the relatively wealthy Zhejiang, many folk craftsmen finally chose to join Hai Han native place.

After Wang Tom landed, he went to the shipyard for inspection. Although he was not an official from the relevant department, these shipyards under Hai Han's name would be converted to military use during wartime, so it would be considered the right way to inspect the work.

A small shipyard like this, which is the main business of building fishing boats, is not known to be available in Shipu, and there is also a house on Liuheng Island in the north. The large shipyard that really builds military ships is located on Zhoushan Island. Currently, Zhang Tiangui's second son Zhang Qianxiang serves as the factory director and technical director in the local area.

"How does Ma Qianhu think of this shipyard?" Wang Tom casually asked Ma Ling, who was accompanying the visit.

Ma Ling thought to myself that in order to avoid suspicion, I didn’t dare to come here to wander, just thinking that the place was transparent and there was no idea. However, he was also quick to turn his mind. After thinking about it, he responded: “Since the completion of this shipyard, there have been more fishermen going out to sea, which is beneficial to the national economy and people’s livelihood, so it is naturally a good thing.”

Wang Tom nodded and asked again: "I don't know where the ships in Shipu Qianhu Station are usually repaired and maintained?"

Ma Ling thought to himself that after the war last year, the Shipu Institute's warships were sunk and paid, and there were only a few unequipped ships to fill the storefronts, so there was no repair and maintenance work. He didn't know what Wang Tom meant, so he responded carefully: "Report to the Chief, Shipu Qianhu Institute currently has only three sentry ships, and there is very little to be dispatched, so there is no need to maintain them."
Chapter completed!