After the meeting between the traverser and Li Huamei, Li Huamei obtained the first maritime trade license from the traverser regime issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a period of three years. [No pop-up novel website] During this period, Li Huamei's "Hangzhou" can sail into Bobu Port at will, and the transit authority will waive its berthing fees and water diversion fees. The goods transported on the Hangzhou will be exempt from import duties. Goods shipped out are exempt from export duties except those listed in the "Export Control" list.
According to the agreement, Li Huamei obtained the Lingao-Goa trade monopoly for a period of one year. The import and export trade between the crossing group and Goa must be carried out through her ships.
The Crossing Group has imposed restrictions on this clause, that is, the goods shipped by Li Huamei to Laigao must be transported according to the requirements of the travelers and the materials designated by the Crossing Group according to the conditions. The price of the designated goods is specified by the Cross-Trade Group. The maximum carrying capacity of the designated goods is no more than one-fifth of the ship's carrying capacity. If Li Huamei voluntarily carries more, there is no limit.
She can repair ships in Bopu and replenish various supplies needed for navigation. The Crossing Group will supply food, gunpowder, artillery and necessary ship repair materials to it at a price. She also has the right to lease a house in Bopu on a long-term basis for her sailors and all persons approved by her. There are no more than twelve people staying in the house he rents.
In addition to assuming the obligation to designate goods, Li Huamei also promised to train sailors for the Crossing Navy in Lingao for three years every year before the monsoon season arrives. While she was training as a sailor, she and all her men were exempted from rent at the shop.
If necessary, Li Huamei must undertake the tasks designated by the time traveler, and the time traveler will pay according to the nature of the task. The mission is only carried out while she is waiting for the monsoon, and does not include military hostilities of any nature. If she encounters danger during the mission, she has the right to abandon the traverser's cargo for the sake of safety. If she voluntarily participates in a conflict or her ship is damaged during a mission, compensation will be paid by the Crossing Group.
These complicated terms are all specified under the guidance of Ma Jia, which can be regarded as applying what they have learned. Although he did not become the president of the Shanghai Maritime Court, he became the commissioner of customs. Naturally, the authority is limited to Bopu, and there is not much work to do, because the one who has actually signed the trade agreement is Li Huamei. Whether it is Gao Ji in Guangzhou or Huang Shunlong in Macau, they are all land dealers, in charge of selling and not buying.
Li Huamei happily agreed to all the conditions. It seemed that she was more advantageous. Especially the Lingao-Goa trade monopoly. As Li Siya expected, the Australians were eager to seek a breakthrough in foreign relations and offered quite attractive conditions.
As for mirrors and glass, Li Huamei didn't take it too seriously. These things are also available in Goa, and the market in Goa is much smaller than that in Ming Dynasty. This is not worth making money, but another thing she saw made her tempted. .
Snow white sugar.
Sugar trade is the most profitable business on international routes. Li Huamei knew that as long as she could transport this kind of white sugar to Goa, she would basically be able to make a profit by selling one shipment, and the business would be guaranteed to make no loss. What's more, the whiteness of the samples they produced was far better than ordinary products. It’s a hot commodity when you arrive in Goa.
Not long after the agreement was signed, she received her first mission, driving the Hangzhou and participating in the exploration around the island with the team.
The fleet consists of the Zhenhai and Hangzhou. The Hangzhou was brought in to make up for the lack of transportation capacity. The travelers planned to collect all kinds of urgently needed industrial and agricultural materials along the way. Multiple ships are always good.
In order to ensure the safety of the Hangzhou, the travelers dispatched a navy team on board the ship in the name of protecting the safety of the Hangzhou. Li Huamei also agreed. In addition to Li Haiping, an old acquaintance of Li Huamei, there was also Gao Xiaosong, a former Coast Guard instructor, who was sent aboard as the captain of the dispatch team. He was selected because he was a soldier with a wife and was not as easily deceived by women with ulterior motives as a homeboy. The Marine Corps consists of four time-travelers from the Special Reconnaissance Team and two squads of Marines. 24 to 11, this advantage is enough to prevent any situation from happening.
Unexpectedly, this careful arrangement failed. Li Huamei volunteered to take the Zhenhai on the grounds that he could help with the steering and teach everyone how to sail. As for your own Hangzhou, you can let the first officer of the Hangzhou drive it. On the contrary, the executive committee seemed a bit stingy - Li Huamei made this request because she undoubtedly felt that she was not trusted and wanted to dispel doubts on herself. Some people began to secretly accuse Wen Desi of being narrow-minded, and some even suggested that because he had been kidnapped by a local woman in the past, it might have left some psychological shadow, so he had a repulsive attitude towards such women.
The executive committee will naturally ignore these rumors, but since Li Huamei is willing to board the Zhenhai, she must receive her well. She was given a separate room in the rear area of the ship, and Chu Yu was specially transferred from Wu De to serve on the ship - in addition to taking care of daily life, it was also for surveillance purposes.
The commander-in-chief of the remote exploration is Wang Luobin. The reason is that he has a lot of knowledge and extensive knowledge: he is from a farmer's family and knows the industry very well. He is also a close comrade of President Wen. He is low-key and friendly, so he respects Wang Gong in every aspect. The response has been relatively good. In fact, Wu De and Xi Yazhou are also suitable candidates, but the former has heavy civil affairs affairs and can't get away from it. The latter, because he also serves as the administrator of the internal bb, is said to have deleted many Chuanzhong posts recently, causing great anger among the public.
As for the Zhenhai itself, the people it carried were very complicated. The captain of the Zhenhai appointed Lin Chuanqing, and he accepted the appointment very happily. This ship is more than twice as big as the previous Deng Yingzhou. It feels more rewarding to drive. Sailors are selected from the Navy. The Zhenhai itself only requires 10 sailors to drive it, and for insurance purposes, the number of sailors is set at 16. There are also 6 naval cadets from the military and political training class in the national school - they boarded the ship as interns and accepted the first voyage in their naval careers.
People from various departments such as military, foreign affairs, trade, resources, and industrial capabilities have been transferred to the ship, and some interns are also on board. Mainly biology and exploration students. In the end, there were more than 80 crew members on board the Zhenhai, of whom one-third were from time travel. Many of them were experts in various fields and brought with them a lot of professional equipment and equipment.
In order to prevent accidents to the greatest extent, each traveler is assigned a life-saving kit, including an inflatable life jacket, a trumpet, emergency life-saving supplies, and a GLC pistol for each person. Although they are not going to fight, they are still fully equipped.
The Zhenhai has a fixed radio station to keep in touch with the base, and the Hangzhou has also temporarily installed a radio station to ensure the connection between the two ships.
While everyone was busy preparing, a fat black man wearing a camouflage uniform with small eyes and big muscles came to the door of the Executive Committee building. He signed and registered to meet with Wen Desi.
"What's up?"
"Mr. Wen, I'm here to talk about the Zhenhai."
"Why isn't the Zhenhai equipped with a steam engine?" Li Chiqi got straight to the point.
"Oh? Why do you need to install a steam engine?" Wen Desi felt strange. Li Chiqi was the person in charge of the vehicle factory, and he couldn't get along with the sailing eight poles.
"It's a big deal!" Li Chiqi was a little excited, "Mr. Wen, you haven't thought about what Zhenhai will do if he encounters enemies when he goes to sea like this?"
"If we have cannons, just shoot them. Are our rifled cannons not as good as the enemy's smoothbore cannons?" Wen Desi knew that the artillery on the Zhenhai not only had solid shells such as armor-piercing projectiles, but was also equipped with grenades. This time and space can withstand its shelling. ships do not exist in East Asian waters.
"This is true for a single ship against a single ship. But if you encounter the enemy's fleet when you go out, it will be too late," Li Chi said anxiously, "Zhenhai is only 2 doors away. If you encounter four or five of the opponent's ships, it will be too late to maneuver the ship." Veteran, you can't even run away. After all, our people's sailing skills are very poor. Several ships gained the upper hand and took turns to approach and bombard us. Our cannons can hit far, but they can't hit accurately. Even if they can hit accurately. , kill one or two ships, and we won’t be dead when others rush over to kill us! We don’t even have a chance to escape.”
"And this is our first self-built ship. If something goes wrong, the morale will be greatly damaged, and the death of people will be even more serious - the life of the time traveler is above all else!" Li Chiqi continued to persuade, " If we put a Mozi-1 steam engine on the ship, whether it is a paddle wheel or a propeller, with a 50-horsepower engine, it will be no problem to run more than 8 knots without sails. If you really want to start a fight, fight if it is advantageous. If you can't win, just head towards it. If you run against the wind, no one can catch up."
"It's too late now. The cargo has been loaded, and the personnel have been fixed. If you want to add a motor, it involves ship modification, which is a very big project. It's a small matter to build a boiler or a steam engine. The key is the boiler, steam engine and coal. Once these are put on the ship, the weight of the hull is completely wrong, and the hull structure has to be greatly modified." He shook his head, "This is not something that can be over in a few days. The expedition team will have one more day. It’s out now. If we change it now, we have to postpone it for at least a month. Time waits for no one.”
"But this-"
"Let's discuss it again. What you said makes sense." Although Wen Desi did not directly approve his proposal, he knew that Li Chiqi was right and that the Executive Committee had indeed ignored this point.
What Li Chiqi said is indeed unlikely, but if they encounter an enemy fleet, they will lose miserably. This is no different than the ship going to Guangzhou. As long as there are sailors who are familiar with the sea conditions, there are harbors along the coast where you can take shelter. Even if it is sunk or captured, the loss of personnel will be limited. The Zhenhai has gathered a large number of traversers with professional skills. If the ship is destroyed and people are killed, it will be a major blow to the great cause of traversal.
Wen Desi struggled hard in the office for half an hour and then made a phone call to the Standing Committee members of the Executive Committee and the Work Capacity Committee.
"Come to the office, I have something to discuss."! ~!
