Chapter 2341 - Freshly Baked Nanyang Company (I)

"This isn't a goddamn document, it's..." Zhou Wei clutched the file titled Reply on Establishing Nanyang Company, flipping through its pages again and again. "It's... It's..." For a moment, he couldn't find the right words.

"It's a gold mine!"

"A gold mine? That doesn't even begin to cover it! This is wealth and merit for a thousand autumns, ten thousand generations!" Zhou Wei set down the document he'd read so many times he could practically recite it word for word. Unable to contain his excitement, he leaned back and collapsed heavily onto the sofa in Nanhai Coffee House's private room, arms and legs splayed out as he stared at the ceiling. All those months of painstaking planning and covert maneuvering had paid off! The endless lobbying, making promises, recruiting supporters... Zhou Wei felt he'd come dangerously close to resembling an insurance salesman or pyramid scheme operator.

Wild laughter erupted from the crowd gathered in the private room. They were all hardcore members of the Southward Faction—not many, but dedicated. Among them were the "Old South" contingent, who had advocated that "the Empire's future lies in Nanyang" since D-Day itself, as well as the "New South" members, recruited from those frustrated by stagnation, who believed that "only going South can solve all our current problems."

The red sandalwood table in the private room overflowed with wine bottles and dinner plates large and small. The floor was a mess. The scene spoke to the liveliness of the gathering.

Whether Old South or New South, the private room brimmed with jubilation. This successful internal operation had given everyone the intoxicating feeling that the world was theirs for the taking. What did the Senate's current wealth amount to? Southeast Asia—and for that matter, North and South America—those were where the real fortunes lay.

First master the company, then master the Senate, finally master the whole Human Empire...

Just then, the private room's doorbell rang. A waitress entered to report: "There's a phone call for Chief Zhou."

"Oh? Who's calling?" Zhou Wei propped himself up on the sofa and looked at the waitress standing by the door.

"It's from Organization Section. They said please come answer the phone immediately."

"Screw that!"

"Let him wait!"

"What could possibly be more important than our celebration right now?"

"Tell him Chief Zhou is busy!"

"Right—if it's so urgent, he can come find Chief Zhou himself!"

...

Zhou Wei waved them off. "I'll be right there."

He straightened his clothes and walked out quickly.

The telephone for this floor of the Nanhai Club had its own booth. After stepping inside and closing the door, he picked up the receiver.

"This is Zhou Wei."

"Hello, this is Ming Lang from Organization Section." Ming Lang's voice sounded exactly as it always did during their previous contacts—"friendly" yet utterly devoid of emotional coloring. "Do you have time between ten and eleven tomorrow morning? We'd like to speak with you privately."

"Yes, absolutely." Zhou Wei could barely contain his elation. There's a chance!

"Excellent. Then it's settled: tomorrow morning at ten. Best wishes with your work!"

"Serve the Senate and People!"

Zhou Wei had uttered this platitude countless times before. This time, he truly meant it from the bottom of his heart. He was finally going to "Serve the Senate and People" for real!

He knew perfectly well why Ming Lang was calling. The moment the Senate General Assembly passed the relevant resolution, before the formal document was even issued, he had already begun drafting a proposal for the newly established Nanyang Company.

He'd written this proposal long ago, of course. Back then, he'd drafted it as "Colonization Division Chief." Now that they were switching to commercial operations, it naturally had to be rewritten according to business management principles. This was child's play for him—in his banking days, he'd reviewed countless such reports and proposals. He knew exactly how to make this proposal look both impressive and substantial.

The purpose of writing it was to apply for the position of Chairman, General Manager, or Director of the freshly minted company—whatever they chose to call it, the point was to become its leader.

The moment the job recruitment notice appeared on the internal website, he submitted both his registration form and this substantial proposal at the first opportunity.

Though the Southward Faction was currently basking in collective joy and harmonious brotherhood, everyone was equal before substantial profits. Should someone turn out to be a fair-weather friend, that would spell trouble. And judging by the current situation, it wasn't impossible that someone might try playing tricks—like the famous story of two peaches used to kill three warriors. He hadn't spent years engineering this outcome just to make someone else's wedding dress.

By preparing a solid proposal himself, he'd left ample room for counterattack. Even if someone wanted to play games, they'd have to think twice.

Now it appeared his foresight had paid off. Ming Lang was indeed scheduling an interview. According to normal organizational procedures, his appointment would be issued shortly after the interview... At this thought, he could barely suppress his joy.

From a mere clerk in the Planning Academy, an empty-titled Colonization Division Chief, to the head of a National Policy Company—this leap was historic, not just for him personally, but for his entire family's future!

He returned to the private room with studied composure.

"What did Ming Lang want?"

"He asked me to submit a detailed report on Colonization Division work..."

"But that's not even under his jurisdiction!"

"It's an organizational inspection!" Zhou Wei said nonchalantly. "Should be about transferring me to the Nanyang Company soon."

In truth, he hadn't wanted to share this news with everyone. After all, until the formal appointment came through, many unknown factors remained. The more people who knew, the more it would spread, and heaven only knew what complications might arise.

But keeping quiet wasn't really an option either. Everyone understood what Organization Section did. Once the appointment was publicly announced, these New South and Old South members would feel he hadn't been "a true friend."

"Ha! Maybe they want you to be Chairman!"

"There's that possibility." Zhou Wei nodded lightly. "Though Chairman might be aiming a bit high—will those people in the Cabinet really let go?"

"Screw them! If they won't let go, we'll make them! Who else is more qualified than you?"

"Exactly, we can't let this victory fall into someone else's hands!"

"If it's not you, Zhou Wei, we won't accept anyone!"

The private room erupted in chaos. Everyone was lost in beautiful visions of the future. Only Zhou Wei returned to careful contemplation after the initial surge of excitement faded.

Taking over as Nanyang Company's leader was already a foregone conclusion. That was certainly cause for celebration. But examining the prospects carefully, the challenges ahead were considerable.

He had risen on the strength of public opinion. If he couldn't quickly deliver results that satisfied the Senate—especially regarding those industrial materials that had been in chronic shortage—he would soon find himself isolated.

The Senate's response this time followed their traditional approach of "Giving Policy, Not Resources." In a way, "Giving Policy" was better than "Giving Resources." If they wanted people to dig for their own food, they couldn't impose too many restrictions. How did the old saying go? "Whoever pays more gets my loyalty."

Judging from the document, the Nanyang Company had obtained extraordinarily broad authorization. Running down the list, except for the three core powers of minting currency, raising an army, and conducting diplomacy, they had been granted virtually unlimited discretion in everything else. The power was substantial. Yet compared to the various "East India Companies" currently rampaging through Southeast Asia, these powers still fell short. Crucially, the Southeast Asia Company hadn't obtained the vital power of trade monopoly.

Without "Trade Monopoly Rights" for Southeast Asia, they would have to eat from the same pot as the current Foreign Trade System. Moreover, they had no authority to expel those merchant ships from Britain, the Netherlands, Japan, and other foreign nations that sailed to Sanya, Lingao, Guangzhou, and Kaohsiung. They all arrived flying the banner of the Senate's "Free Trade" policy.

"Engaging in Free Trade in the 17th century—that's idiotic behavior! Look how much money we're letting the Europeans earn for nothing!" Zhou Wei had privately cursed this policy more than once.

But openly opposing Free Trade was out of the question. After all, it counted as Senate Consensus. And the regular arrival of foreign merchant ships saved considerable shipping capacity while lowering prices. Especially in recent years, the Dutch East India Company had transported vast quantities of rice to Lingao, greatly relieving the Senate's food pressure.

Unfortunately, the technology gap between the Dutch and the Senate was simply too vast. The Senate might persuade the Dutch to plant rubber and oil palm in the East Indies, but they had no way to teach them how to mine the various non-ferrous metal ores that the industrial sector desperately needed. Even if they were willing to provide hands-on training, the Dutch probably lacked the motivation for such high-investment, low-profit business. After all, selling locally produced rice to the Senate was far easier.

Such bone-gnawing work naturally falls to us, Zhou Wei grumbled inwardly.

However, the Senate had given him another opening: throughout the whole of Southeast Asia, the Foreign Trade Company would not intervene. The Nanyang Company could operate freely, organizing trade activities across the region independently.

As for military forces, he wasn't too concerned. None of the overseas stations had regular armies, but they could all cobble together some armed forces on their own. Once colonies were established, they could legally organize armed forces under the guise of "militia." They could also apply for National Army deployments—and once those National Army troops arrived in Southeast Asia, they would still fall under company command.

Minting rights didn't concern him either. That was never something an enterprise could demand. And once colonies and local Southeast Asian trade networks reached critical mass, they could help the Reserve Bank expand the circulation of Silver Yuans and Silver Yuan Notes. Cheng Dong and his colleagues would only be grateful.

As for diplomacy—what diplomacy did the Senate even have at the moment? They'd only sent a Consul to Batavia. Not that it mattered. His interest lay in building colonies and mining operations, not signing commercial treaties.

Where should his first step fall? As the freshly appointed General Manager of the Nanyang Company, Zhou Wei began calculating. Deep in his heart, Vietnam had always been his primary objective. The Senate already had a foundation there. Besides the Hong Gai Coal Mine, years of trade and armed intervention in the civil war between the Northern and Southern Dynasties had already secured considerable interests in Vietnam.

(End of Chapter)