Chapter 1872 Dinghai Port Experience

There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests. Even if there are perennial territorial disputes between Ming Dynasty and Haihan, this does not prevent local officials from benefiting from interactions with Haihan. What's more, since last year, the two countries have

A new agreement was reached on diplomatic relations, and disputes over certain areas with unclear ownership rights were jointly put aside to avoid the outbreak of armed conflict between the two countries. Of course, there is also a secret reason, which is that Ming Dynasty needs to obtain Haihan on the northern front.

support to resist the Qing offensive.

However, in the eyes of local officials in various coastal state capitals, the court's compromising attitude was more forced than anything else. Because there is a clearly visible gap in the armed forces of the two countries, it is no longer possible for the Ming Dynasty to regain the actual power in these areas through war.

Control. Moreover, the benefits brought by this cross-border trade are too great, enough to make many officials give up their so-called principles.

After the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries, local officials in Zhejiang finally understood why the powerful officials in Fuzhou and Guangzhou in the south had been pretending to be deaf and dumb to Haihan's actions all year round, because as long as they did nothing and ignored him, they would

A large amount of money will automatically pour into your pocket. Being a clay Buddha can provide you with a large amount of incense money, and you can also keep the peace of the area under your control. Then who would want to risk their wealth and life to fight to the death with Haihan?

What's more, those who bravely tried to challenge Haihan have not heard of anyone who caused real trouble for Haihan. Those who once caused great trouble later disappeared from the officialdom without a trace. But others

Those who chose to compromise soon discovered that their lives were getting better and better, and the benefits Haihan could provide were even beyond their imagination.

Today, officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang no longer regard Haihan as a scourge, but as a fat God of Wealth. As for Haihan's small actions in Zhoushan Islands and some coastal counties, as long as the money is in place

Yes, everything can be discussed.

Since last year, North Koreans have been coming to Zhoushan one after another. At first, they were just businessmen, monks and traveling scholars. They came to Zhoushan in the name of non-governmental exchanges. After confirming that the local government would not interfere between North Korea and Haihan,

After that, North Korean official personnel gradually came to Zhoushan Dinghai Port operated by Haihan. Of course, these people would not claim that they were working for North Korean officials to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, but in fact, Zhoushan Port

The Korean Guild Hall here is a semi-official embassy institution. Officials like Jin Shangjiu handle various diplomatic affairs with Haihan and Ming Dynasty in the Guild Hall.

However, Jin Sangjiu did not come to Zhoushan with this group of North Korean students. He actually left Seoul half a month earlier than them and went to Zhoushan in advance to prepare for receiving this group of students. Of course, the main part of this work

The target is the crown prince Li Shu. Others are not qualified enough to let him, the newly appointed Li Cao, do the errands.

Because he completed the diplomatic mission extremely well during the Anti-Qing War and guided the Haihan Fleet to successfully block the Qing army in the Yalu River, with this credit, Jin Sangjiu was promoted from the original fifth-rank Li Cao Zhenglang to the third-rank official.

Councilor Li Cao can be regarded as a figure who has a place in the court from now on.

Jin Sangjiu did not get carried away because of his promotion. He knew very well where his credit came from. He knew that if he left Haihan as his backer and returned to Seoul to work as a yamen, his career in the future would have to go back to the yamen.

Same old thing. If you still want to move up, you have to continue to maintain close contact with Haihan, so as to gain more opportunities to make meritorious deeds.

Therefore, although Jin Sangjiu was already a senior official of the third rank, he still did not give up his original job in Zhoushan. It happened that the country was going to send a group of students, including the crown prince, to study abroad in Haihan, so Jin Sangjiu took the initiative to take over the task and returned to

Zhoushan. In terms of familiarity with this area, no one in North Korea could match him. This reception task really belongs to him.

Jin Shangjiu actually didn't know how long Li Bo would stay in Zhoushan. It might be just one night, or it might be ten and a half months. He didn't dare to inquire about such sensitive information involving security in advance. But as a minister, he naturally had to first

Be prepared for the crown prince to live in Zhoushan for a long time.

Although the guild hall built by North Korea in Dinghai Port is not as large as the embassy in Sanya, considering that this is one of the main overseas offices of North Korean officials, the guild hall still has plans to receive important people. After Jin Shangjiu came over, he

He ordered the layout of the guild hall to be adjusted according to the plan and to free up one of the courtyards as the residence for the crown prince Li Shu after his arrival in Zhoushan.

After the fleet from Seoul docked at Shengshan Island, it sent a telegram to Dinghai Port to report its itinerary. Jin Shangjiu also received a notification from Haihan officials that the prince's fleet would arrive at Dinghai Port the next day.

Although Haihan's garrison in North Korea did not send senior officials to escort Li Bo and his party, Shi Diwen would personally come out to greet them in Zhoushan. Therefore, Jin Shangjiu had to be careful about this matter and not act too presumptuous and rob Shi Di.

Literary limelight.

Early the next morning, the fleet set off from Shengshan Island, passed by the west side of Qushan Island and Daishan Island, and then saw Zhoushan Island on the sea to the south. The fleet sailed from the waterway between Jintang Island and Zhoushan Island

Passing through, and then turning eastward, you will find Dinghai Port Bay, which is guarded by a large number of small islands. The busyness of maritime shipping here also greatly impressed the North Korean students who had all flocked to the deck to enjoy the scenery.

Xie Li also boarded Li Bo's ship today and introduced him to the basic situation of Dinghai Port: "Your Majesty, please see, taking the high point called Xiaozhu Mountain that protrudes in the middle of the bay in front as the dividing line, the bay is divided into There are two parts: the east and west. The east is a civilian and commercial port, where most of the trade between my country and Jiangsu and Zhejiang is completed. The west is a military port, where the East my country Sea Fleet of our country is stationed. However, the East China Sea Fleet was previously All of our main ships have gone north to your country to assist in the war, so there are only about a dozen combat ships stationed here."

Li Ming thought that it would be difficult for a dozen warships to defend the vast East China Sea. But when he thought about it, the Ming Dynasty Navy here was said to not even be able to leave Hangzhou Bay. How could there be any opponent in the entire East China Sea?

Threaten Haihan. Armed pirates? The coasts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been wiped out by Haihan in a few years. The surviving pirate leaders have changed their identities and joined the Haihan camp. No one will challenge Haihan again if they are tired of living.

majesty.

Xie Li continued: "The port facilities of Dinghai Port have completed two expansions, and the third phase of the expansion project is also in progress. After completion, it will become the largest trading port in the entire East China Sea region."

Li Bo couldn't help but asked curiously: "I heard that Sanya is known as the first port in the South China Sea. How does this seaport compare with Sanya?"

This question made Xie Li think about it for a moment before answering: "If it compares with trade volume, of course Sanya is bigger, but Zhoushan Port has more room for expansion. In ten or twenty years, maybe the situation will be different."

It’s hard to tell the changes.”

Xie Li's answer is relatively objective. Although Sanya is prosperous, the space in the two harbors of Victory Port and Sanya Port is limited. If we want to expand further, we can only continue to build docks upstream of the Sanya River and Linchun River, and that will not work.

It is not suitable to be used as a seaport expansion project. In addition, Sanya is indeed a little far away from the main trading target of Ming Dynasty. It is far less convenient than places closer to the mainland such as Hong Kong, Penghu, and Zhoushan. Zhoushan has become extremely popular in just a few years.

The rapid development speed is catching up. If this momentum can be maintained, it is really possible to catch up with and surpass Sanya in a few years.

Li Bo asked further: "I would like to ask, under the rule of Haihan, were there many ports of the size of Ruding Harbor?"

Xie Li is a real person and answered honestly: "The largest port in Zhejiang is Dinghai Port, and there is Shipu Port two hundred miles to the south. But further south, there are Jilong Port, Magong Port, and Kaohsiung Port in the Fujian Strait.

Hong Kong and Hong Kong at the Pearl River Estuary are also large-scale ports. As for the South China Sea, there are also six or seven ports of similar size. Speaking of ports, our country defeated the Spanish in the South China Sea this year and captured the Manila Port, which is said to be

It was the first port in the South China Sea before Sanya, and now the largest port in the South China Sea is our country’s port!”

In fact, even further down this ranking is still the port of Haihan. If the Port of Batavia on Java Island had not suffered a war in the past few years, almost half of the city was destroyed, and it could barely squeeze into the top few, but now it has

Things are different now. In addition, after the appearance of Haihan, it has taken away a lot of trade shares from the Dutch, and it can no longer be ranked among the top trade ports in the South China Sea.

Li Shu sighed: "With so many major trading ports under your control, it's no wonder that your country is so rich!"

As he spoke, the fleet was already guided to the shore. Due to the special status of the passengers on board and the escort of warships, these ships all docked at the military port. And Li Bo was able to observe it up close again.

He even noticed the Haihan warship docked on the shore. There was a shipyard in the direction of Xiaozhushan, and there were ships under construction in several large and small shipyards.

After the ship docked, some staff from the dock boarded the ship first to confirm the conditions of the passengers, especially the condition of the Crown Prince Li Bo, to ensure that the subsequent meeting between the leaders of both parties could proceed smoothly.

"The main reason is that I am afraid that you are not in good health. This has happened before. A distinguished guest was unable to move due to severe seasickness. In the end, he had to be carried off the ship on a stretcher." Xie Li was afraid that Li Miao might misunderstand, so he asked Li Ming specifically.

He explained the purpose of this link.

Li Fu expressed his understanding of this. In fact, such situations are not uncommon in diplomatic situations. Before his father wanted to meet with foreign envoys, Li Cao Yamen would also send someone to confirm with the other party. In fact, he was not completely

I don’t feel seasick, but I have recovered more than half after a night’s rest on Shengshan Island last night. My physical and mental conditions are pretty good at this time, and I’m even a little excited.

In order to show that they attach great importance to the arrival of the Crown Prince of Joseon, the Zhoushan authorities even arranged a small welcome ceremony and brought in a band to play gongs and drums to create an atmosphere. This slightly nondescript arrangement seemed to Li Hao

Haihan's unique way of welcoming, although he was a little surprised, did not show it on his face.

Jin Shangjiu first boarded the boat to meet Li Bo, and then followed Li Bo before disembarking, so that he could introduce to Li Bo the important people who came to greet him at the dock as soon as possible.

Although Shi Diwen was the only high-ranking Haihan official present, almost all the chief officials of the Zhoushan authorities' major agencies attended today's welcome ceremony, and there was a long queue behind Shi Diwen.

After the two sides exchanged greetings, there was actually a military parade. Jin Shangjiu introduced to Li Bo in a low voice: "This is a unique ceremony of Haihan. This ceremony only occurs when senior officials of Haihan meet with important foreign figures."

arrange."

Hearing that he could be so valued by Haihan, Li Pu happily accepted such an arrangement. Accompanied by Shi Diwen and other Haihan officials, he inspected an army company stationed locally. The equipment of this army company was the same as that of Li Pu's in Datong.

The troops seen at Jiang base seemed to be the same, but An Daoshi, who was following behind and watching, noticed that the rifles held by these Haihan soldiers seemed to be different from the weapons deployed by the Haihan troops stationed in North Korea.

The difference that Andao Shi noticed is indeed objective. Only a few elite troops are qualified to equip the advanced seven-shot continuous rifle, while the army stationed in Zhoushan is only an ordinary unit, and the rifles equipped with it are also inferior in performance.

It's just a flintlock gun. Of course, this gap in combat effectiveness only exists within the Haihan Army. Externally, it is still a powerful existence that is difficult to defeat.

After the welcome ceremony, Shi Diwen invited Li Bo to ride in a carriage to the location of the local management committee to attend the welcoming banquet prepared for him and the group of North Korean students. Li Bo also knew that the Haihan people had always treated banquets as a form of hospitality.

As a conventional social means, he immediately thanked Shi Diwen for his warm hospitality.

"Actually, someone from Ningbo Prefecture is coming today, but because his identity is relatively sensitive, it is not suitable to appear at the dock, so I can't meet the prince until I get there." After getting in the car, Shi Diwen said something that surprised Li Ming.

information.

Of course, Li Pu knew that the Ningbo Prefecture mentioned by Shi Diwen refers to the local government of the Ming Dynasty, and his visit to Haihan was undoubtedly humiliating to the Ming Dynasty. However, listening to Shi Diwen's meaning, it seemed that the local officials came here specifically.

What is going on when people show themselves a welcoming attitude?

"Ningbo Prefecture...doesn't mind my visit to your country?" Li Bo asked tentatively.

Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Frankly speaking, as long as the prince does not go to Ningbo Mansion to walk around in public, they won't mind."

Li Pu suddenly realized that the purpose of sending people here from the local government was to persuade him to keep a low profile and not to wander around in their jurisdiction and cause trouble for them.
Chapter completed!