If Yantai Port is the political and economic center of the East Coast people in Denglai, then Jiaozhou Port is the military center of the East Coast people here. In this city, which is formed on the basis of fortresses and military ports, there are stationed a servant division that includes the 7th Mixed Battalion (which has been established from the south), the garrison of the Qingdao Fortress, and a normal rotation - this year, it is the turn of Xie Zhen's 6th Division of the Servant Army in Weihai County, with 5,000 soldiers - In addition, there are 3,000 people of the 4th Division Chen Quanzhong in nearby Jimo County, with a total strength of about 12,000 people.

Jiaozhou Port is also an important military port, and the ships of the Okhotsk Naval Detachment of the Third Fleet of the Navy have to go south here every winter to spend the winter, maintain the ships, train non-commissioned officers, go out to sea for patrols, and so on.

There was a certain degree of objection to the establishment of modern ship repair yards in Denglai cities such as Yantai and Jiaozhou, believing that this could lead to the proliferation of technology, violating the principle of technological blockade of major powers formulated by the local authorities - in principle, blocking technology from China, India, Ottomans, Russia and other major powers - but considering that merchants from the United Provinces, England, Portugal and even France began to pour into the ports of the Qing and Ming countries, and while trading with them, they also imported a lot of industrial and military technology, As a result, the overall technical level of China has improved a lot.

At this time, the blockade will not make much sense, because even if the technology of the Europeans is not as advanced as that of the East Coast, the gap is only in mechanization, and there is no essential difference. In addition, the people on the east coast do have an urgent need for ship repair, so the originally simple ship maintenance houses in these two core port cities have introduced a large number of engineering and technical personnel and special machinery and equipment, so that the ships that originally needed to go to Rishiri Island, Omarari Port, Heishui Port and other places for repair and maintenance have been diverted to Yantai and Jiaozhou on a large scale. You must know that in the past, the ship repair shops in these two ports could only carry out simple maintenance work for a limited number of ships because of their limited strength, but now they have been upgraded to ship repair shops, and their strength has indeed been qualitatively improved.

In recent years, a small amount of steam equipment has also been allowed to be introduced into these two ship repair shops, which has further increased their repair and maintenance capabilities, and the ship repair business is booming, and even Taiwanese banks and other private ships have come here for maintenance, which has trained a large number of industrial workers.

These industrial workers and their families, as well as officials, soldiers, businessmen and their families, constitute the main body of the citizens of Jiaozhou City. They usually live in the Jiaozhou fortress city, which has been expanded once, with high security, sufficient material supply, good environmental sanitation, and indeed a relatively comfortable life, the only drawback is that this is a city built for the main purpose of military defense, except for one or two state-run shops that supply grain, oil and daily necessities, there are almost no entertainment facilities.

In the periphery of Jiaozhou City, over the years, some residential areas have sprung up one after another, which are similar to the surrounding areas of Yantai City, mainly handicraftsmen, small traders, commercial employees (mainly employees of teahouses, restaurants, brothels, etc.), and agricultural operators, which serve the residents of Jiaozhou City. Their presence also makes Jiaozhou City more vibrant, making it look more like a place for human beings to live than a murderous war machine.

"Jiaozhou, like Yantai, is a bit 'boring' to be honest, and the most prosperous and fun city in Denglai is undoubtedly Penglai County, the former seat of Dengzhou Prefecture. Because it was Dong Dalang's territory, he almost didn't care about anything, and let it go, as long as he received a satisfactory amount of money and food every month. Jiang Yunfan pointed to the tall silhouette of Jiaozhou City and said: "Yantai City is similar to Jiaozhou City, the original location was barren and there was nothing, until a fortress and a wharf were built later. Therefore, these cities are very full of military functions, but they are not suitable for habitation, and people feel depressed, boring, and nervous in them, which I deeply feel. Moreover, in order to emphasize military defense and not be taken advantage of by the enemy, no residential areas are allowed to exist within two or three kilometers of Yantai and Jiaozhou fortresses, which I think is a bit harsh and stifles the potential of urban development. ”

"You see, I usually live in Yantai City, and my work is usually in the city. But once I have time, I am still more willing to go farther and enjoy the real life, the most exciting place in Yantai County is never in Yantai City, but outside the city! Jiang Yunfan was still talking, only to hear him say: "Fortunately, there are some changes in Jiaozhou City now!" Vice President Xu, you see, in the hinterland south of the fortress, a large piece of land has been carved out, out of the restrictions of the military district, and began to operate a business, and this has also been approved by the outgoing Liao Xiaoyao Commander Liao, and Sun Chunyang South Store, Taiwan Bank and other enterprises have begun to buy land and real estate here, ready to show their strength. In the future, the goods handled by Jiaozhou Port, in addition to military supplies, will be moved here, and the future development prospects are promising. Ah, yes! The land granted to your company is also there, which is agreed in advance, and the one near the sea can be used to repair the railway station, freight yard and commercial wholesale market. In the future, if the whole line of the Jiaoyan Railway is completed, some wharf equipment will be added here, and it will be able to play a role. ”

"In this way, it is decided to pay attention to the development of this piece. Also, Jiaozhou Bay Port is a first-class port in North China, and there is Jimo County, an agricultural base nearby, which supplies food, and indeed has all the necessary factors for development. But have you tried to attract merchants from those places to trade? Xu Xiangdong asked.

"Everywhere, even the Dutch and the British! Even if our population in Denglai has been diverted several times, it is now more than 1.5 million people, and the gap between the rich and the poor is very small, and the consumption power is still there, and it is definitely able to digest foreign goods. Jiang Yunfan said in a slightly joking tone: "Actually, we hope that the Dutch will reach a fixed trade relationship with us, in the past, they sometimes came and sometimes did not come, sometimes they traded in Yantai, sometimes they traded in Jiaozhou, and the trade volume and the number of goods were also uncertain, and there were many troubles." This time, because of the changes in the relationship between the two countries, they will not come to trade directly, which is quite annoying. However, there are some thieves in England who dare to take the risk of going to Jiaozhou to trade with us, mainly to purchase high-grade furs, medicinal herbs, wine and other goods, but unfortunately the quantity is not very large. ”

"They still have doubts about us, and it's not uncommon for them not to trade for the time being. However, there are already some bold and intelligent people who have made an example, and I believe that there should be more European merchants coming to trade in the future, right? Especially the latecomers, the French, who have always wanted to open a breakthrough in trade like a headless fly, I think that if the Ming and Qing kingdoms cannot compete with the Dutch, Portuguese and English, sooner or later they will come to us to try their luck. It's a pity that the country's seafaring tradition is not strong enough, and the number of trading ships is not as good as that of the above-mentioned countries, so it is really difficult to say how much trade can be brought. After Xu Xiangdong pondered for a while, he responded to Jiang Yunfan and said: "The future profitability of the Jiaoyan Railway still has to be based on Denglai itself, the circulation of goods between various states and counties is fundamental, and foreign trade is unreliable after all." By the way, why don't you bring in the East Coast Japanese Company and the East Coast North Korean Company as well? Their annual trade volume is also quite small, if they can set up a large freight yard in Yantai or Jiaozhou, it should also be very interesting, isn't Deputy Commander Wei tempted? ”

"After the East Coast North Korean Company has set up a freight yard in Yantai Port, it is mainly engaged in trade between North Korean medicinal materials, grain, honey, iron and other commodities with us, and the scale is okay. However, the trade of Japanese companies on the east coast is much poorer, and some of the swords, screens, folding fans, and seafood they import from Japan are not bulk trade, and it is difficult to go in volume, so they have not paid much attention to the market here, and this time they have only begun to set up an office in Yantai and Jiaozhou, but it seems that they are not very concerned, and they should feel that the market is limited. Isn't it a joke that the biggest export goods of the East Coast Japanese company to Terrai are probably those Japanese ronins who have a difficult life and can't get enough to eat, right? Those guys, Liaodong is willing to spend money to be death squads and cannon fodder. Jiang Yunfan commented on the operation of the two companies, and there was no lack of complaints about the East Coast Japanese company.

"Hehe, Japan has been peaceful for many years, and the shogunate has been scheming to continuously reduce the Ishitaka of the Daimyo of the Outer Daimyo, which has led to the unemployment of many samurai! These samurai have become a social problem in Japan, and they left Japan to make a living, and probably the Tokugawa shogun was happy to see it. But you are also right that Japan is a country that has very little to offer to us, except for swords, folding fans, folding screens, and a meagre quantity of seafood. The main consumer market for copper sheets, sulfur, and lead has always been Sakhalin's primary military industry, and very few can be sold to Denglai. This kind of trade, it is no wonder that the Japanese companies on the east coast are doing a painless job, their biggest customers are actually still local, after all, gold and copper are commodities that are urgently needed in the local area, and Denglai does not have this demand. Xu Xiangdong climbed a small slope, looked at the blue sea in the distance and the railway station that was under construction by the sea, and suddenly felt a burst of relaxation and joy in his heart.

Yantai and Jiaozhou two key nodes, the core city, is connected by a 225-kilometer-long railway, the second of which will also connect six states and counties along the line (Jiaozhou, Jimo, Laiyang, Qixia, Fushan, Yantai) hundreds of thousands of people, while radiating including Ninghai Prefecture, Jiaoxian including two close by, population of the city, the effect is huge.

Xu Xiangdong estimated that it would take about four or five years to complete the construction of the railway, and then it would be debugged and tested, and it might officially start commercial operation sometime in 1683. At that time, if everything goes well and there are no major changes, the total population of Denglai will probably be 1.7 million people, and there will definitely be a lot more factories, workshops, and shops than now, so that the profit base of the railway will be there - it is a pity that the local authorities have never approved the overseas operation of cable telegraphs, otherwise there will be more money-making tools for the Jiaoyan Railway.

Of course, the Jiaoyan Line Railway may have a certain amount of loss in the first few years of operation. However, as the so-called loss in the embankment is compensated for by the outside of the embankment, the loss incurred in the operation of the railway can also be made up through the operation of the attached land, which has a mature supporting plan in the local area. In particular, Denglai is not like the local area, and the Jiaoyan Railway passes through most densely populated areas, which are much better than the local conditions, so it should not take a few years to reverse the trend of losses and start trying to make a profit, which is a very clear thing, and Xu Xiangdong is also quite confident in this.

As for the Taorong Line Railway, which was also planned – well, it has now been officially upgraded to the Binh Vinh Line – its construction may have to wait a little longer, at least until the Jiaoyan Line Railway is stable and profitable, otherwise the financial pressure will be too great. Of course, if the situation changes, such as the outbreak of a full-scale war with the Qing state, then it cannot be ruled out that the more military-oriented Pyongrong Line railway could be built immediately, because at this time, it is clear that the Southern Railway Company will receive a large amount of money and in-kind subsidies from all levels of government, and the financial pressure will be much less.

After thinking about this, Xu Xiangdong, who was in a good mood, greeted him, and went towards Jiaozhou City with his entourage. Not far in front of them, Jiaozhou Bay was calm, and more than a dozen ships were leisurely anchored in the harbor, two of which even flew the flag of England, which was quite surprising.

The arrival of these ships is also more or less related to the toss of the East Coast Navy outside the Xiangshui Port of the Qing Dynasty last year. During the military operation that lasted for several months, many foreign ships that went to trade were either captured or sunk by the people on the east coast, and the foreign trade of the Qing State, which had existed for many years, was severely damaged. And these foreign businessmen obviously can't wait for a few years not to do business, so many people went to Ningbo, and the Bank of Taiwan to trade, the remaining few, it seems that they also came to Jiaozhou, should try their luck - they are lucky, recently Jiaozhou port has shipped a large number of Sakhalin production of high-quality iron, hardware products, labor tools, Nanyang, India is in great demand, is a good trade with the local people to exchange special products, so the British will buy a lot, planning to ship to Surat and other places for sale, in exchange for Indian specialties.

"These lucky people, even if they only run back and forth between India and Denglai to do business, they should be able to make a fortune, of course, this is related to the fact that our government has not really gone to India for commercial development." Xu Xiangdong thought.