Chapter 260: Prospects

Originally, it was an important stronghold of the Black Hawk Gang, a famous pirate gang on the coast of Chunnan and Nanyang. Seven Seas Trading Company and the Black Hawk Gang have been dealing with each other for a long time, and since the establishment of Seven Seas Trading Company, every time they meet, they will inevitably start fighting, and they will not tolerate each other. With the gradual growth of the strength of the Nanami Trading Company over the years, and with the commissioning of new warships such as the Huya Ship, the Black Hawk Gang is now being suppressed very much. And gathering forty warships, with a total of more than 5,000 troops, to capture this important stronghold of the Black Eagle Gang, which is not far from Yuhang, can be regarded as a great success.

This is a place called Jiaoyayu, which is an archipelago composed of two large islands and a string of small islands and reefs. The terrain is very complex, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It seems that Nanami Trading Company intends to develop this place into a hub for Seven Sea Trading Company on the Chunnan coast. Although we must always be on guard against the Chunnan Sailor who will inevitably want to pick up the cheap, the geographical location of this place is really very sensitive and very important. With this place, and the fresh water on the island, the Seven Seas Trading Company and other Dongping maritime merchants could start from Yicheng and go to Nanyang without stopping at any Chunnan port. Just the landing tax, water diversion fee and other expenses of several ports in Chunnan that are avoided every year are quite considerable. Not to mention the filial piety given to local officials and the like.

But the choice of this place for such an important meeting is not without objections. Jiaoyayu has not been in existence for a long time, and the fleet of the Seven Seas Trading Company has not yet figured out all the surrounding situations, and has not even completed the clearance of all the large and small islands, and I don't know if there are still remnants of the Black Hawk Gang hiding in it. Some of the veteran deacons felt that it would be better to hold a meeting in Yuhang, even though it seemed that those topics were discussed in Yuhang...... Very underwhelming.

Seven Seas Trading Company has not had time to renovate its facilities and defenses on Jiaoya Island, and it still retains its original pirate style. In addition to the rugged halls on the top of the island, there are small and medium-sized houses scattered throughout the island, as well as a number of natural or man-made caves. However, these are for many traditional merchants who are accustomed to the high hall compound. It's a good experience, and the merchants who can run the sea are not so squeamish. And for a maritime merchant like Qi Zhentao, who turned from a pirate, it is even more nostalgic. Fortunately, Qi Zhentao was just a little nostalgic, but he didn't burn out his brain, and in the end he didn't accept the proposal to light a bonfire in the largest cave for a meeting. Qi Zhentao kicked away the guy who had mentioned this bad idea, and said scoldingly: "Don't look at the weather, hide in the cave and wait for so many things to be discussed." It's time for people to get acquainted. ”

The topic of the meeting was very serious and crucial, and although it has not been a long time since they joined the group to do business, the founders of these trading companies have fully realized the benefits over the years. And the strength they have gathered makes everyone feel the joy that is very different from simply doing business. The topics they have to discuss and the things they have to do now are far more than the average businessman.

The reclamation of land in Nanyang is progressing quite smoothly, but the progress from recruiting people to resettle entire households has been slow. In Dongping, as long as there is strength. If you are willing to endure hardships, you basically won't be able to live. In such a situation, few people are willing to move to a wild land thousands of miles away to pioneer. Even if the conditions of their development were very good, Seven Seas Trading Company not only provided housing, land, and some security measures, but was also responsible for their safety, ensuring that they would be reliably rewarded for actively assisting Seven Seas Trading Company in its expansion and cultivation efforts. These recompenses are rarely made in the form of gold, silver, and jewelry. Because of the underdevelopment of the local area, many private small-value transactions have retreated to barter. The locals, native products, precious plant seeds, fish and livestock that could be captured as slaves were all precious resources. At this meeting, some people have already raised the question of whether it is possible to recruit displaced people not only from Dongping, but also from Chunnan and Xiling. Anyway, it's thousands of miles away. It's not that Seven Seas Trading Company is rubbing it, and it will soon be naturalized under the governance authority of Yazhou on behalf of Seven Seas Trading Company.

It may be that they are really short in their hands and soft in their mouths, and after receiving a lot of benefits from the Samir family, they must provide corresponding help to maintain a close relationship between the two parties. For the Samir family's war for the establishment of a nation that has broken out due to an accident in the Gulf region, the most important thing is not money, not ordnance or ordinary soldiers, but those who can lead the troops to fight the general-type characters. The Samirs are a business family after all. They are too short of such talents. After several major battles, they fully realized that it would be too difficult to win the battle without a sufficient number of middle and high-ranking officers. And the background of the Samir family may be able to buy some capable generals, but it cannot obtain the allegiance of truly loyal and brave soldiers. The most typical soldiers, in the fanatical religious atmosphere of the Gulf, regard it as a great honor to give their lives to Allah. Such a person cannot be expected to be persuaded in any way.

Thereupon. Nanami Trading Company mobilizes the brains of a retired sergeant from Tohei. Many of the deacons of the trading company were surrounded by guards who had come from military backgrounds. Naturally, these wealthy merchants chose the most elite old sergeants. And now there are several people who are receiving double or even several times the salary to serve as counselors in military aircraft in the Gulf region. Assisted in commanding the battle. Dongping's professional military system allows these veterans who have been in the army for at least six years to have relatively solid military experience. Limited to a position that was not very high, he may be a little lacking in the overall situation of battlefield command, but when he mastered the fight of grassroots troops, organized daily tactical operations, marched, and trained, he was really praised by the Samir family. It is estimated that it is not difficult to continue to look for people who are willing to go to the Gulf region to earn money as mercenaries, and there are really many militants in Dongping. But how do you find higher-level military commanders? No one has a clue. Ye Tao didn't say anything, but he felt that it should still be possible to find a few lieutenant-level veterans from the retired veterans. And the Dai family gave up Yunzhou, and a large number of middle-aged officers with real power from the Dai family who were originally in the army or the Dai family's in-law family gave up military power and returned to the field in order to facilitate Dongping's takeover.

Otherwise, there is a limit to what the Seven Seas Trading Company can do, after all, they are still a merchant group, not a military group. And what they are most concerned about now is the establishment of Nanyang and the matter of Seven Seas Trading Company acting as the governing power. It is true that this Nanyang can be regarded as the Nanhai Trading Company's own earnings, but the state recognized this enclave, and gave the Seven Seas Trading Company great praise, not to mention, and let the Seven Seas Trading Company continue to "contract", this kind of thing they did not expect. Merchants are indeed profit-seeking, but they also have the same desire to serve the country. On the subject of the massive expansion of rice cultivation, no one has mentioned a single word about reducing the loss of spice production.

If the grain production of those islands in the South Seas can reach a certain scale, then the grain produced in the South Seas alone will be enough to maintain the daily consumption of the Dongping army. That will be an extremely powerful supplement to Dongping's comprehensive strength. Nanami Trading Co., Ltd. made meticulous preparations for various production tasks, not only transporting large quantities of agricultural tools and daily necessities to every household from thousands of miles away, but also transporting a considerable number of ploughing cattle and horses to Nanyang. Under the circumstance of extremely limited manpower, from the very beginning, the Nanyang side has carried out a series of production work such as farming, planting, and breeding in the form of teamwork according to the natural villages and the farms they have established, with immigrants as the core and a small number of local people as the auxiliary. And all kinds of problems that may be encountered in production are summarized at any time and coordinated through Flying Eagle Communication. In the South Seas, there is even a special warship carrying more than a dozen veterinarians with expertise in all aspects, as well as various tools, equipment, medicines, etc., that may be used when treating livestock, shuttling back and forth to deal with various situations. The reason why people do not enjoy this medical treatment is that villages, farms, and the ports that link these points have a stockpile of doctors and medicines, and it seems that man is much more adaptable to the environment than animals.

In terms of development level and living conditions, Nanyang is much more difficult than most places in Dongping, but after the implementation of various safeguard measures of Nanhai Trading Company, it has a bit of a paradise taste. It's just that this paradise has put a lot of effort into defense. Every household has simple weapons and armor, every village has special war rations, medicines, and so on, and every port has ballistas, divine arms, catapults, and fire oil bombs. Seven Seas Trading Company has calculated that at their current pace of investment and level of construction, it will take about two years to break even, and it will not be until five years later, when the various systems in Nanyang Yazhou have been normalized and regularized, and production has formed a sufficient scale, that it will be able to generate remarkable benefits. There is also a supplementary condition that the Samir family can gain a foothold in the Gulf region and develop their country. However, what everyone cares about now is not the length of time, nor the amount of money invested, but everyone is afraid that the investment is not enough fast enough, and the construction is not solid and stable enough. This was a territory that was completely opened up by the merchants for Dongping, and everyone fell into a frenzy of making achievements. And Qi Zhentao and others, such as Qi Zhentao and others, knew that a few years later, after the war between Dongping and Chunnan, they would have to attack Chunnan from Nanyang in a timely manner, and at that time, these businessmen who had been soaked in the sea for half their lives would even be able to truly enjoy the pride of waving the flag and rolling thousands of troops.