1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 213 The work of persuasion
With the existing conditions in the [-]th century, it is of course impossible to restore Baili Island to the state of a military fortress in the [-]th century. Such a major project that changes the world cannot be completed at the current level of construction.However, it is not too difficult to set up small-scale military strongholds on these islands.

"To choose a location to set up a stronghold here, there are two problems that must be resolved, one is fresh water, and the other is the port." Xiao Liang pointed to the map and explained: "Considering that the area of ​​the island itself should not be too small, the remaining options There are not many, probably the three adjacent islands of Dawanshan Island, Baili Island and Dongao Island. The objective conditions of these three islands can meet our needs, but which one to choose in the end, I’m afraid we’ll have to do a few more field trips before we can decide.”

Xiao Liang didn't say it directly, but Schneider already understood what he meant: "You mean we'd better figure out the situation of these islands as soon as possible?"

"At least make sure that there are no pirate forces occupying these islands." Xiao Liang nodded to confirm Schneider's guess: "There should be more or less news about this from Li Jifeng."

Li Jifeng sat in the hall with his eyes slightly closed, thinking about the meeting with Schneider later.

The development speed of the Haihan people has greatly exceeded his expectations. It has only been more than three months since the first news about Haihan was sent back from Yazhou. The business of these Haihan people has expanded from Yazhou to Guangzhou. , and also intends to develop further north.But at the same time, Li Jifeng is also very clear that the Haihan people probably do not have the real strength to expand northward, because as far as he knows, Mr. Shi, who is good at doing business, has recently bought a boat on the market, which is enough to show that the Haihan people are still serious. Lack of capacity.

Since they don't have enough transportation capacity, why do they try to inquire about the situation of the coastal forces in Fuguang?Li Jifeng thinks that this is another trick played by Schneider, and he wants to use it to seek some benefits, such as connecting with a certain big maritime force, and then directly selling supplies such as arms and private salt to it. The intermediate link of "Furuifeng" can be omitted, and Haihan people can obtain more benefits from these businesses.

Li Jifeng has always been on guard against such attempts. He knows that the biggest reason why Haihan people choose to cooperate with "Furuifeng" is because of their own sales network. The so-called agency rights are all Based on the semicolons of "Furuifeng" spread across Fuzhou and Guangzhou.If the Haihan people have established their own sales channels, then the existing basis for cooperation between the two parties will no longer exist.

Although the Haihan people do not have enough sea transportation capacity to expand the northern shipping line, in Li Jifeng's view, the Haihan people's ambitions in trade will lead them to open up the northern trade route as quickly as possible. Ruifeng", looking for new local agents for cooperation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.However, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces are far richer than Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, and there are many big merchants there. With Haihan people doing business, it is not difficult to find a stronger partner than "Furuifeng". This is the last thing Li Jifeng wants to see. arrived status.

Li Jifeng has been thinking about how to tie the interests of both parties together these days, lest Haihan, a cash cow, run away by himself.Of course, he can continue to use various reasons to evade the demands of the Haihan people, and he can even cause a little stumbling block for the Haihan people, so that their maritime trade will not develop so smoothly.But Li Jifeng didn't dare to ensure that this trick could fool the Haihan people, especially that very shrewd Mr. Schneidersch.If the two parties fall out, the Haihan people may soon find another partner in Guangzhou City.

Recently, Haihan products have been on fire, and all the big merchants in Guangzhou City are desperately trying to find out the origin of these things. It was only a matter of time before the public view.At that time, there will definitely be a large number of merchants looking for cooperation. If something goes wrong with "Fu Ruifeng" and the other party catches it, then the loopholes that the Haihan people deliberately left in the agency agreement will come into play. .

And Schneider recently proposed this "most-favored treatment", which gave Li Jifeng hope to solve this problem.If "Furuifeng" gets this treatment, no matter which business Haihan people choose to cooperate with in the future, at least "Furuifeng" can have the same competitiveness as them.From this perspective, Li Jifeng believes that it is worthwhile to inform the Haihan people of some relatively confidential information.But what Li Jifeng was not sure about was the upper and lower limits of the Haihan people on these intelligence information, and if the situation leaked too much, would it have an adverse impact on his family's maritime trade business on the southeast coast in the future.

Li Jifeng thought over and over again, but still felt a little uneasy. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip. Just as he was about to put it down, he remembered something, and said, "Don't use this Dahongpao when the tea is served. Use the one I bought from Hangzhou Mansion this year." Mr. Shi likes the Yuqian Longjing well.”

At Shenshi in the afternoon, Schneider visited the door on time, and He Qiang went to the gate to pick people up, and led them into the inner hall to meet Li Jifeng.After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two took their seats, and after the servants served tea, there were only the two of them left in the hall.

"Good tea!" Schneider praised after taking a sip, "The most authentic Longjing tea can only be drunk here in Guangzhou City!"

Li Jifeng said with a smile: "Since Mr. Shi likes it so much, I'll ask someone to send a few catties to the house later."

After Schneider said a few polite words, he quickly got to the point: "I wonder how shopkeeper Li thinks about the matter I mentioned to Manager He yesterday?"

Li Jifeng and Schneider have met several times before and after, and he is used to his unconventional and practical style, so he responded immediately: "Mr. Shi's offer is very good, but I don't know how to achieve this." Most-favored treatment' agreement?"

After yesterday's discussion at the Guangzhou Office, Schneider had a relatively comprehensive plan on how to proceed with this matter, and immediately explained it to Li Jifeng.

First of all, the Haihan side needs to understand the distribution of coastal forces in Fuzhou and Guangxi, the more detailed the better.This area includes the area from the mouth of the Pearl River to Wenzhou, which is adjacent to Fujian, and the waters of the Taiwan Strait.At the same time, Schneider also said that at present, it is only to understand the relevant situation. In the short term, Haihan will not get involved in the shipping business between Fuzhou and Guangzhou, and has no intention of competing with "Fu Ruifeng" for customers. The purpose of understanding these situations is only It is just for the executive committee to assess the risk of expanding trade channels northward.

Secondly, the goods sent by the "Furuifeng" party to Fujian must be supervised by Haihan's side, and some goods are prohibited from being sold to merchants or local forces on the blacklist provided by Haihan, even if they are resold through middlemen. Once found out, Haihan will immediately terminate the exclusive agency rights of "Furuifeng" for all commodities in Fuzhou and Guangzhou.

For these two requirements, Li Jifeng still has some mental preparations, but he does not fully believe the reasons explained by Schneider.Although the Haihan people are very trustworthy, it does not mean that they are a very rigid group of people. On the contrary, everything the Haihan people do has a purpose, but sometimes the means they adopt make people unable to see their purpose clearly. That's it, just like the current situation.Li Jifeng believes that Schneider's statement that "the Haihan executive committee needs to assess risks" is just an excuse, and at the same time, this excuse also prepares countermeasures for his own side's possible non-cooperative attitude - then Schneider can use "Executive Committee" They will think that Fuguang’s sea route is too risky” and other reasons, and openly refused to cooperate with “Fu Ruifeng” in Fujian and even the coastal provinces further north.

"It looks loyal, but it's actually cunning!" Li Jifeng secretly commented on Schneider in his heart.But Schneider certainly wouldn't care about this kind of evaluation. With his thick skin, he would probably interpret Li Jifeng's resentful evaluation as a compliment to his professionalism.

As for the second request made by Schneider, Li Jifeng did not expect it, because in the first batch of arms sales, the Haihan people had already jumped out to point fingers and disagreed with "Fu Ruifeng" selling these arms To the Fujian pirate gang "Eighteen Zhi", but can only sell it to Xu Xinsu, a sea merchant named by them.

If it weren't for the huge profits in the arms business, where there could be hundreds of thousands of taels of gross profit from trafficking a cannon, Li Jifeng would definitely not tolerate these Haihan people interfering in his own business.After all, there are frequent wars in Fujian, and the arms business is a good business that can last for a long time. Even if Li Jifeng has trouble with the Haihan people, he will not have trouble with money. In order to receive large orders for arms from Fujian in the future, Li Jifeng decided to endure Take it easy.

But I didn't expect that the Haihan people would intensify this time, and directly demanded "supervisory power", and there was also a "sale ban" that could take effect at any time. Li Jifeng found it difficult to understand, and also found it unacceptable.

"Mr. Shi, buying and selling, both parties cooperate voluntarily. Don't you think such a move is suspected of forced buying and selling?" Li Jifeng is also a bit of a city man, and he didn't get angry because of this, but tried to refute the other party verbally. .

Of course, if Schneider would admit defeat on the lip, then he wouldn't be listed as one of the top five talking points of the Time Traveling Group.For Li Jifeng's question, Schneider had already prepared an answer: "Master Li, the reason we made this request is not to interfere with your freedom of doing business, but to ensure that our business in the southeast coast can be done safely and stably for a long time." Go on. Which things can be sold, which things can’t be sold, who can buy and who can’t buy, these are all decisions after careful argumentation by our executive committee, not empty words, just sing whatever comes to mind .In simple terms, you can understand this as a sales strategy, and we ask for oversight rights just to ensure that this strategy can be implemented."

Li Jifeng was overwhelmed by his words, and seemed to understand, but he didn't seem to mention any substantive things at all.Li Jifeng thought to himself for a while before answering: "If your side asks you to do something, you should at least tell us clearly why you want to do it first, instead of prevaricating with words!"

Schneider picked up his teacup as if drinking tea, thinking to himself that this old guy is quite understanding, it seems that he can't be restrained without using some killer moves.

Schneider put down his teacup, and said solemnly: "Since shopkeeper Li must want to know the reason, then I will disclose a little bit appropriately. But the law does not spread to the ears, what I said here today, I hope that shopkeeper Li will rot after listening to it." Heart, otherwise I am afraid there will be disasters."

Li Jifeng sneered in his heart, you literary scholar still want to scare me with words?At the age of 12, my uncle went to sea with his parents. Whether it is pirates, officers and soldiers or Westerners, he has seen a lot, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

Although Li Jifeng disapproved in his heart, he still said calmly: "As Mr. Shi said, I will definitely keep it a secret."

Schneider nodded and said, "I'll take Fujian as an example. It's been almost two years since 'Eighteen Zhi' fought with Xu Xinsu from Xiamen?"

Li Jifeng was taken aback, and thought that Schneider didn't know anything, he even knew when the fight started and how long it lasted, so he nodded and said yes, waiting for Schneider to continue talking.

"I know that your bank has business dealings with both sides of the war, and I'm sorry to ask, will shopkeeper Li choose one side to support?" Schneider asked.

Li Jifeng shook his head and said: "It's not just the Shixing family that has contacts with them, but all maritime merchants who want to do business in the Fujian waters will more or less maintain a certain relationship with these two companies, so as not to be affected by Chi Yu. As for supporting one of them... this is a war. Both sides are strong, and before the time to decide the winner, who would dare to choose sides easily? If you accidentally bet on the wrong treasure, wouldn’t that be asking for trouble? Whoever is willing to pay, you can do it with anyone who is despicable Business, it's as simple as that."

"According to shopkeeper Li's opinion, which side has a greater chance of winning?" Schneider continued to ask.

Li Jifeng thought for a while before he said: "I think the 'Eighteen Zhi' are just a group of pirates. Although there are heroes like Zheng Yiguan leading the army, Dayuan Island lacks supplies and supplies are difficult, and Xu Xinsu is backed by the mainland and has naval forces. There are many conveniences in doing things with the general title, and if it is delayed for a few more years, it is reasonable to say that Zheng Yiguan will be exhausted."

Schneider nodded again and again. If it wasn't someone who knew this period of history, he would probably have similar thoughts with Li Jifeng. Regardless of whether these people under Xu Xinsu were listed or not, they were considered regular troops of the Ming Dynasty. Since I have money, I don't have to worry about building a ship or buying weapons, so I can't lose to a bunch of pirates, and this is probably one of the reasons why Li Jifeng planned to sell the arms to "Eighteen Zhi" in the first place. one.

"Then if I say that Zheng Yiguan will win this battle in the end, what do you think?" Schneider asked with a smile.

Li Jifeng frowned, did not answer his question immediately, but began to think about it in his heart.If it is said that the Haihan people are more optimistic about Zheng Yiguan, then it is easy to explain their previous interference behavior - selling arms to "Eighteen Zhi" has only one effect, and that is to speed up the end of this battle, and this is obviously It does not meet the interests and needs of the Haihan people as arms dealers.

After thinking for a while, Li Jifeng said: "Your side is optimistic about Zheng Yiguan, what is the reason? You must know that the red-haired people are not helping each other, and Xu Xinsu is backed by the Fujian government. I really can't see what Zheng Yiguan has to win." Opportunity... Maybe you think that after a year or two, the situation will change and the situation will turn sharply, but I dare not make rash judgments."

Schneider shook his head and said: "This is not a rash conclusion, it is an inference after our rigorous research, we don't have to wait until two years later, next year Xu Xinsu will be defeated by the Central Left Institute, and his own life will also be lost there ...you don't have to look at me so surprised, this thing is bound to happen, if we sell weapons to 'Eighteen Zhi', then Xu Xinsu will probably lose even if he doesn't last next year. You know what that means What are you wearing?"

Li Jifeng said in astonishment: "It means... from now on, the Fujian side has stopped fighting, and the demand for buying weapons has dropped sharply?"

"That's just one of them." Schneider shook his head and said: "After Zheng Yiguan controls the coast of Fujian, he will immediately submit to Daming and take over Xu Xinsu's position in the Fujian Navy. The largest maritime force on the southeast coast, all ships that do maritime trade within their jurisdiction must pay them protection fees every year... Shopkeeper Li, you should know what protection fees are, right?"

Seeing Li Jifeng nodded with an ugly face, Schneider continued: "Your bank has a lot of ships going to Fujian every year, and the protection fee you have to pay is not a small amount, so if Zheng Yiguan wins this war, It is of no benefit to your bank or to us. All we can do now is to prevent Xu Xinsu from losing so quickly. The longer they fight, the greater the benefit to us. Of course, even if Xu Xinsu fights Winning is also of no benefit to us, so if Xu Xinsu gains the upper hand in the future, then we will also adjust our sales strategy according to the development of the situation, and tend to support the relatively weaker side so that they can protract this war beat down."

Li Jifeng sighed: "At first, I thought not to choose a side was the most brilliant strategy, but now it seems that Mr. Shi's move is superior!"

Schneider thought in his heart that I am different from you. To you, it is a gamble to choose a side. To me, it is just a small golden finger.Schneider spread his hands and said, "Shopkeeper Li should be fine now, right?"

But Li Jifeng still shook his head and said: "After all, Mr. Shi is empty talk. How can I easily believe such a big matter based on Mr. Shi's few words?"

Schneider sighed, it seems that this spoiler party is not easy to do, and it is impossible to gain Li Jifeng's trust without some dry goods.

(End of this chapter)