Chapter 247: Li Chiqi's Suggestion

Following the conclusion of their negotiations with Li Huamei, the Foreign Affairs Department issued her the first maritime trade license ever granted by the transmigrator regime. Valid for three years, it permitted her vessel, the Hangzhou, to enter Bopu Port freely and exempted her from docking and pilotage fees. All goods she brought in would be free of import tariffs, and all goods she shipped out would likewise escape export duties—save for items appearing on the "controlled export" list.

Under the terms of the agreement, Li Huamei received a one-year monopoly on the Lingao-Goa trade route. Every import and export transaction between the Transmigrator Group and Goa would pass through her ships exclusively.

The transmigrators attached conditions to this privilege. The cargo Li Huamei delivered to Lingao had to include specific supplies designated by the regime, transported according to their specifications. These designated goods would be priced by the Transmigrator Group and capped at no more than one-fifth of the ship's cargo capacity—unless, of course, she voluntarily chose to carry more.

She was permitted to repair her ships at Bopu and replenish navigational supplies. The Transmigrator Group would furnish food, gunpowder, cannons, and ship repair materials at fixed prices. She also gained the right to lease housing in Bopu on a long-term basis for her sailors and any persons she approved, with occupancy limited to twelve.

Beyond carrying designated goods, Li Huamei agreed to train sailors for the Transmigrator Navy in Lingao each year while awaiting the monsoon season—a commitment spanning three years. During these training periods, rent for her and her subordinates in Bopu would be waived entirely.

When necessary, Li Huamei was required to undertake tasks designated by the transmigrators, with payment determined by the nature of each assignment. These tasks would be performed only while she waited for favorable winds and would exclude any military hostilities. If she encountered danger during an assignment, she retained the right to jettison transmigrator cargo for safety. Should she voluntarily participate in a conflict or suffer damage during a task, the Transmigrator Group would provide compensation.

These intricate clauses had all been drafted under Ma Jia's guidance, allowing him to put his legal education to practical use at last. Though he hadn't become President of the Maritime Court as he'd once hoped, he had secured the position of Customs Director. His jurisdiction, naturally, was limited to Bopu, and there wasn't much work to occupy him—Li Huamei remained the only person to have actually signed a trade agreement. Both Gao Ju in Guangzhou and Huang Shunlong in Macau were sedentary merchants; they managed sales but not shipping.

Li Huamei accepted all the conditions readily. On the whole, the terms favored her considerably. The monopoly on the Lingao-Goa trade was particularly attractive. As Li Siya had predicted, the Australians were eager to achieve a breakthrough in foreign relations and had offered enticing terms to secure it.

As for mirrors and glassware, Li Huamei placed little weight on them. Such things existed in Goa too, and the market there was far smaller than in the Ming Empire; one couldn't grow rich by relying on them. But something else she saw moved her deeply.

Snow-white sugar.

The white sugar trade—this was the most profitable business on the international shipping lanes. Li Huamei knew that as long as she could transport this white sugar to Goa, every shipment would turn a profit. A guaranteed fortune. What made it even better was that the samples they produced were far superior in whiteness to ordinary products; they would be hot commodities in Goa.

Not long after signing the agreement, she received her first task: captain the Hangzhou in accompaniment of the fleet on a circumnavigation survey of Hainan Island.

The fleet would consist of the Zhenhai and the Hangzhou. The latter was brought along to compensate for insufficient transport capacity. The transmigrators calculated that they would collect various urgently needed industrial and agricultural materials along the way, so an extra ship was always welcome.

To ensure the reliability of the Hangzhou, the transmigrators dispatched a marine detachment aboard under the pretext of protecting the ship's safety. Li Huamei accepted this arrangement without objection. In addition to her old acquaintance Li Haiping, the detachment was led by former Coast Guard instructor Gao Xiaosong—selected specifically because he was a married soldier, unlike the otaku who were easily deceived by women with ulterior motives. The marine detachment was a mixed unit of four Special Reconnaissance Team transmigrators and two squads of marines. With a ratio of twenty-four to eleven, this advantage was sufficient to guard against any eventuality.

Unexpectedly, this careful deployment came to nothing. Li Huamei voluntarily requested to sail aboard the Zhenhai, citing that she could help steer and teach everyone navigation. Her Hangzhou, she said, could be captained by her first mate. The Executive Committee appeared somewhat petty by comparison—Li Huamei's request was undoubtedly meant to dispel whatever suspicion she sensed they harbored toward her. People began whispering in private that Wen Desi was narrow-minded; some even hinted that because he had been kidnapped by local women in the past, he might harbor some psychological trauma leading to a rejection of such women.

The Executive Committee naturally ignored these rumors. However, since Li Huamei was willing to board the Zhenhai, she had to be received properly. She was given a private cabin in the aft superstructure, and Chuyu was specially transferred from Wu De's household to serve her aboard ship—fulfilling the dual purpose of attending to her daily needs and monitoring her movements.

Wang Luobin was appointed General Commander of the survey expedition. The reasons were his diverse learning and broad knowledge: he came from a farming background, understood industry well, was a close comrade of President Wen, and was low-key and friendly. Consequently, the response to Engineer Wang was positive from all quarters. Wu De and Xi Yazhou would also have been suitable candidates, but the former was bound by heavy civil affairs duties, and the latter, acting as the internal BBS administrator, had reportedly deleted many posts by transmigrators recently, stoking considerable public grievance.

As for the Zhenhai itself, the personnel aboard were extraordinarily varied. Lin Chuanqing was appointed captain—an appointment he accepted with great pleasure. Compared to the former Deng Yingzhou, this ship was more than twice the size. Commanding it gave him a far greater sense of accomplishment. The sailors were selected from the Navy. The Zhenhai required only ten sailors to operate, but for safety the crew was set at sixteen. There were also six naval cadets from the Military and Political Training Class at the National School—aboard as interns, undertaking the first long-distance voyage of their naval careers.

Personnel from various departments—military, foreign affairs, trade, resources, industry and energy—were drafted onto this ship, along with some interns, mainly students specializing in biology and exploration. In the end, over eighty crew members populated the Zhenhai, a third of them transmigrators. Many were experts in various fields, bringing with them a great deal of specialized equipment and gear.

To maximize protection against accidents, every transmigrator was assigned a survival kit: an inflatable life vest, a whistle, and emergency survival supplies. Each person was also issued a Glock pistol. Though they weren't going to war, they were fully equipped.

The Zhenhai carried a fixed radio station to maintain contact with the base, and a radio was temporarily installed on the Hangzhou to ensure communication between the two ships.

Just as everyone was bustling with intense preparations, a dark, heavyset man with small eyes, curly hair, and muscular build arrived at the Executive Committee building dressed in camouflage fatigues. After signing in, he was granted an audience with Wen Desi.

"What's the matter?"

"President Wen, I'm here to talk about the Zhenhai."

"Why isn't there a steam engine installed on the Zhenhai?" Li Chiqi went straight to the point.

"Oh? Why should we install a steam engine?" Wen Desi found this strange; Li Chiqi was head of the Vehicle Workshop, which had nothing to do with navigation.

"It matters a great deal!" Li Chiqi was visibly agitated. "President Wen, haven't you considered what to do if the Zhenhai encounters enemies once it puts to sea?"

"We have cannons. We fight. Are our rifled guns inferior to the enemy's smoothbores?" Wen Desi knew that the artillery on the Zhenhai included not only solid armor-piercing shot but also high-explosive shells. No ship in the East Asian seas of this timeline could withstand its bombardment.

"That's true for ship-to-ship duels. But if we run into an enemy fleet out there, it'll be too late for regrets," Li Chiqi pressed anxiously. "The Zhenhai only has two guns. If we encounter four or five enemy ships, crewed by veteran sailors, we won't be able to run away—after all, our sailing skills are poor. If several ships seize the weather gauge and take turns closing in to bombard us... our guns shoot far, but they aren't accurate. Even if we hit and eliminate one or two, once they swarm us, we're dead all the same! We won't even have a chance to flee."

"And this is our first self-built ship. If something happens, the blow to morale will be immense. And if people die, it's even worse—the lives of transmigrators are paramount!" Li Chiqi continued his earnest appeal. "If we install a Mozi-I steam engine, whether paddle-wheel or screw-driven, with a fifty-horsepower engine, we can easily do over eight knots without sails. If a fight breaks out, we fight if we have the advantage; if we can't win, we run directly into the wind, and no one will catch us."

"It's too late now. The cargo is loaded, the personnel are assigned. Adding an engine involves modifying the ship's structure—it's a massive project. A boiler, a steam engine—building them is a minor issue. The key is that once the boiler, steam engine, and coal are on board, the ship's trim will be completely off, and the hull structure will need a major overhaul." He shook his head. "This isn't something that can be finished in a few days. The expedition team leaves the day after tomorrow. To modify it now would mean a delay of at least a month. Time waits for no one."

"But this—"

"Let's discuss it further. You have a point." Although Wen Desi didn't directly accept the proposal, he knew Li Chiqi wasn't wrong. The Executive Committee had indeed overlooked this.

The probability of Li Chiqi's scenario occurring wasn't high, but if they did encounter an enemy fleet, the loss would be catastrophic. This wasn't like the ships traveling to Guangzhou, where sailors familiar with the sea could find bays everywhere along the coast to hide in. Even if sunk or captured, the personnel losses would be limited. The Zhenhai gathered a large number of transmigrators with specialized technical skills. If the ship were destroyed and lives lost, it would be a major blow to the Transmigration Enterprise.

Wen Desi struggled with his thoughts alone in the office for half an hour, then placed a call to the Standing Committee members and the Industry and Energy Committee.

"Come to the office. There's something we need to discuss."

(End of Chapter)