In 1842, Britain forced the Qing government to sign the "Treaty of Nanjing" through the Opium War, and occupied Hong Kong Island, the purpose of Britain's war of aggression against China was to use force to forcibly open the door to China and open up a broad market for British industrial products.

Therefore, soon after the opening of Hong Kong, Britain declared Hong Kong a free port to attract businessmen from all over the world to trade in Hong Kong, and the free port policy implemented by Britain continued to attract businessmen from all over the world to bring capital and goods to Hong Kong, and the entrepot trade between Hong Kong and Taiwan developed.

After 65 years of operation, Hong Kong has gradually developed into a base for British dumping in the Far East and a center for entrepot trade in the Asia-Pacific region, especially to China, not only as a trade center port for Chinese mainland, but also as a leading commercial port in the Far East.

As the largest commercial port in the Far East, more than 130 cargo ships of more than 100,000 dwt enter Hong Kong every day. However, in the past few months, the cold Sino-British relations have had a negative impact on Hong Kong's trade, and the reduction in the number of ships entering the port is the most direct reflection, and the more direct reaction is probably the hundreds of merchant ships stranded in the port, most of which are stranded in the port because there is not enough cargo, so they have to stay in the berth area and pay high berth fees every day.

In the past few years, Meihe has become the largest American-funded shipping company in Hong Kong, and it has been engaged in the import and export of Chinese goods in the past ten years.

Under the manipulation of the merchants, not only the British capital was boycotted, but Hong Kong, which was also the trade center of the British Far East, was also boycotted, and it was very difficult for any merchant ship engaged in Hong Kong's entrepot trade to obtain a cargo waybill, and with the semi-cooperation of the state, this boycott had a serious blow to Hong Kong's entrepot trade and shipping, and the hundreds of merchant ships of various countries ranging from 1,000 tons or even 10,000 tons were berthed in various port berths in Hong Kong at this time, as evidenced by this.

In order to maintain Hong Kong's status as a major trading port in the Far East, the British government did not hesitate to provide measures to reduce berthing fees during the boycott to ensure that merchant ships from various countries would not be transferred, but the truth is that for shipowners, the last thing they want to see is that merchant ships are stranded in the port and have no goods to transport.

On the other hand, many Chinese shipping companies have bought old ships and opened up ocean routes during the boycott, and this immediate impact is something they have to consider.

"Last month, the China Merchants Shipping Bureau alone purchased 12 ocean-going merchant ships totaling 43,500 deadweight tons, and in one month, the tonnage of China's domestic ocean-going merchant ships increased by 100,000 tons, and as many as 23 new ocean-going routes were opened......

In the office on the third floor of the company, Bruce? Forthas looked at the foreign bank Taipan Jack in front of him? Johnson debriefed.

"Now, it can be said that every day we stop in Hong Kong, the Chinese will open a new route, which is 10% lower than our company's freight rate, so that they can get more orders, and British companies may be able to sacrifice the interests of the company for the benefit of the United Kingdom, but for American companies, we have no obligation at all!"

Looking at Taipan, Bruce deliberately emphasized again.

"Americans are not obliged to sacrifice for Britain!"

"But, Bruce, you have to know that we have had the support of the Bank of England on several occasions over the last dozen years or so, and at this time, they have asked us that we must help them, whatever the reason! Our future is at stake! ”

Jack? Johnson seemed a little helpless, as an adventurer, twenty-three years ago, he bought an old clipper ship to the East, and it took twenty-three years to establish the current shipping company with 120,000 tons of ocean-going merchant ships, and in the process, with the support of the British HSBC, he knew that now was the time for him to repay the British, and other German, Italian, Austrian-Hungarian and even Dutch companies could leave Hong Kong, but they couldn't, at least not at the moment. ,

However, as a shipowner, he clearly knows that his 93,000-ton merchant ships stranded in Hong Kong now need to pay more than 100,000 yuan per day berth fees, although the British government in Hong Kong has instructed the company to enjoy 70% of the concession, but the daily berth fees of more than 40,000 yuan and the staff wages paid in vain have made the company suffer serious economic losses, although HSBC provided the company with an interest-free loan of 1 million Hong Kong dollars a month ago, but in fact, this million yuan, It is not possible to make up for the company's loss for a month, and the loss of tens of thousands of yuan per day is by no means a loss that Meihe can bear.

But morally, he knew he had to.

"Taipan, since the declaration of war between China and Japan, we have lost more than three million yuan, we no longer owe anything to the British morally, if the contradictions between them and the Chinese are not resolved in the next year, then we should stay here for a year, if so......"

After a moment of silence, Bruce said with regret.

"I think I and every employee in the company will have to consider accepting an offer from another company, and at that time the company will cease to exist because of huge debts, Taipan, this is something we have to consider!"

"Will it probably last a year?"

Jack? Johnson asked rhetorically, but there was no trace of confidence between his words.

"The Russo-Japanese War has been going on for a year and a half, and now, who knows how long the war between China and Japan will last, between the British and Japan, there is an Anglo-Japanese alliance, in this war, they are bound to stand on the side of Japan, it is for this reason that Britain is in the current embarrassing situation, thus dragging down British business interests, but British companies can directly get subsidies from the British government, but what about us?"

With a wry smile, Bruce said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It is true that in order to show our support, HSBC has provided us with interest-free loans, but these loans will one day, foreign banks need to repay, if they continue for a year, then the company will need to bear more than 10 million yuan in debt, at that time, my Johnson Taipan, I am afraid that the British shippers who have been eyeing us for a long time, will swallow us in one bite, and HSBC, which is helping us today, is it still possible to stand by our side and support us? No! They will stand very happily on the side of the British-funded shippers and force us to sell the United States by forcing us to pay debts, and then the United States will be finished! ”

Looking at his ocean, Bruce said seriously.

"Perhaps, Mr. Johnson, the temper of the West tells you that we ought to be moral, but we have to see with whom we preach morality, Englishman?"

Humming the last three words in a mocking tone, Bruce continued.

"The British have never had any morality at all, and we must be clear about this!"

Bruce's warning silenced Johnson, and after a long silence, he looked at Bruce and asked.

"So, Mr. Bruce, tell me, what should we do?"

In the face of de facto losses and the British crackdown on foreign shipbuilders in Hong Kong over the past two decades, Johnson understands that in any case, he must now make the right choice when the United States still has a little capital.

"Shut down the Hong Kong foreign bank, transfer the headquarters of the foreign bank to Shanghai, and at the same time, submit the list to the Shipping Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of China, assure them that the United States and foreign companies are willing to take over the control of the shipping department at any time!"

Bruce spit out a clause that has made foreign shipping companies resist, foreign shipping companies must sign a contract with the China Shipping Administration, and this contract is equivalent to handing over half of the company, Hong Kong's entrepot trade in the past year, has been greatly developed, it is precisely because of this regulation of the China Shipping Administration, which means that the foreign shipping company has handed over part of the control of the merchant ship, like now, if this is accepted, then it means that the United States and foreign companies must withdraw from Hong Kong, withdraw from Singapore, of course, Japan, has long withdrawn, Although the US Embassy in China has protested this, the explanation given by the Chinese Foreign Ministry is very simple: the merchant ships will be returned after the investigation, but no one knows when the investigation will be completed, and the Chinese side has no specific timetable. ,

Every time the foreign company sent people to contact the relevant departments of the Chinese government, they were evading, the shipping department said that it was a matter of the navy, the navy said that it was a matter of the bureau, and the bureau of investigation said that it was a matter of the shipping department, and finally, even Bruce, who was in charge of negotiations with the Chinese government, had no confidence in the conclusion of the investigation.

"This is equivalent to handing over our company!"

Johnson almost instinctively rejected this clause, and it was precisely because he was unwilling to give in to it that he changed his place of registration to Hong Kong.

"It's just a part of the power, and don't American shipping companies have similar obligations to the Postal Service? And, if we sign it, there is one more advantage for the company! ”

Refuting Taipan's words, Bruce made another point of emphasis.

"If we do that, the Chinese authorities will soon end their investigation of our merchant ships!"

Relevant departments, when Bruce proposed this department, Johnson's expression changed slightly, and he looked very helpless, in fact, this expression appeared on the face of almost every shipping company owner whose merchant ship was arrested, and the relevant department was really a very "nonsense" department.

"If the war doesn't end, I'm afraid that the relevant departments won't end the investigation!"

No one knows which department the relevant department is, nor what the relevant departments are doing, they only know that those polite Chinese officials will always answer them, "Now the relevant departments are in charge of this matter, and they have nothing to do with them", but as for where the relevant departments are, I am afraid that even the Chinese officials cannot answer.

"The relevant department is an unfathomable department, it is like a ghost all the time around you, everyone has the possibility to face the relevant department, but everyone does not know what the relevant department is!"

Even in Europe and the United States, they now know the power of the relevant departments, and their power is so powerful that even the bureaucratic Britain will seem to have no idea where to start when facing the relevant departments, let alone the United States, and the United States and foreign banks are even more unable to understand what the relevant departments are, and of course it is impossible to know when the relevant departments will conclude their investigation into the seizure of the ship.

Noticing that Johnson seemed to be still hesitant, Bruce hurriedly spoke.

"Taipan, I don't know if you've noticed a little!"

"Huh?"

Johnson was stunned for a moment, what did he notice?

"Recently, the expansion of Chinese shipping companies seems to be very fast!"

"It's normal, they're rejecting us! The vacated capacity naturally requires them to expand rapidly in order to occupy the market that originally belonged to us! ”

Johnson said with regret.

"Perhaps, in a few years, the Chinese shipping companies will be like Japan back then, they first squeezed us out of the coastal routes, and then step by step squeezed us out of the ocean routes, and eventually, in China, all foreign shipping companies will be squeezed out, this country is developing their shipping industry, which is the inevitable development of the shipbuilding industry."

"But why, when their shipping capacity is developing, do they need to charter a large number of merchant ships from various countries?"

"Because their capacity simply cannot meet the demand, so while they are suppressing, they borrow lease contracts to buy companies that are willing to cooperate with them, carrots and sticks, which is the best means of the US government in the past, and now it is just imitated by the Chinese!"

Johnson spit out these words, with a hint of mockery on his face, of course he knows what kind of trick this is, this has no skills at all, for every company that is willing to cooperate with them, they will provide relatively preferential treatment, and if they are not willing to cooperate, then with the help of commercial and official double suppression, and finally force the other party to cooperate with it.

But all this cannot change the fact that with the development of China's shipping industry in the future, they are bound to swallow up these companies one after another, and in the future, when he was in Japan's Meihe branch, he suffered losses from the Japanese in this regard, and finally had to sell three merchant ships to Japanese companies in exchange for the so-called "transportation quota", and in the future, perhaps the Chinese will be more ruthless than the Japanese. ,

"Their ultimate goal is to swallow our Meihe in order to develop their own shipping!"

Of course, this is an undeniable fact, and it is precisely because of this that we should seek as many benefits as possible now, use the resources we have now, and give full play to their potential, instead of wasting the resources in our hands, what do you think? Mr. Taipan! ”

Bruce agreed with a rhetorical question, which silenced Johnson.

It was only at this time that Bruce threw out the information he already had.

"Officials from the Shipping Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce of China had an informal contact with me a few days ago, and if we are willing to move the registered place of foreign banks to Shanghai, then they promise to provide us with waybills that exceed 30% of our foreign shipping volume last year at the average market price, which means that our profits this year can increase by 20%, and at the same time!"

Then Bruce continued.

"As a shipping company registered in China, we will enjoy a standard subsidy of 1 Chinese yuan per ton of capacity per year, which is fully encouraged by the Chinese government to promote the development of domestic shipping, and does not require the company to repay an additional income!"

Listening to Bruce's words, Johnson's heart immediately moved, the increased waybill and the subsidy of one Chinese yuan per ton are preferential conditions that people cannot refuse.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, it was the director of the Shipping Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce who made this suggestion!"

"These foreign devils!"

Li Mu, who was far away in Nanjing's Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce, deposited the telegram in his hand, which was a telegram from the United States and Foreign Banks to accept his own proposal.

"There is only silver in their eyes, as long as there is silver, they can even sell it to their own father!"

In addition to sighing, Li Mucun picked up a contract, as the director of the shipping department, his duty is to develop domestic shipping and resist the development of foreign shipping companies, but these contracts obviously violate this duty.

"Wait, when the navy runs out of these ships, you can slowly close the net!"

As he spoke, a cold light flashed in Li Mucun's eyes, and the reason why the shipping department is now looking for merchant ships all over the world is that on the one hand, it is a boycott of the British shipping company and Hong Kong, and on the other hand, it is because the navy has withdrawn the 120,000-ton merchant ships registered in the shipping department at one time, the best-performing and newest merchant ships, and the shipping department has suddenly reduced its capacity by 30 percent.

At least in Li Mucun's view, this is an opportunity to wipe out those foreign shipping companies in China.

"5 years,"

Snorting coldly, Li Mucun understood that five years later, it was time to close the net, and those companies had accepted this "average market price", but who set this average price? Is it the shipping department, and whose price does the shipping department refer to? Naturally, large Chinese companies only need one price reduction in the future to make those foreign companies either withdraw from the Chinese market or sell their merchant ships. Those Chinese-funded companies can get "commercial loans" from government banks as support, foreigners...... They're just foreign devils.

"I really don't know why the Navy has withdrawn so many merchant ships!"

muttering in his heart, Li Mucun began to prepare the contract with Meihe.