1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2171
Yu Chengli has lived in Hirado for a long time, so he is naturally more aware of the conflict of interests between the Hirado clan and the shogunate than the outside world.For a long time, the shogunate tried to control Japan's foreign trade, so that the taxes from these commercial activities were directly included in the shogunate's treasury.However, Japan’s navigation industry is not well developed, so transnational trade is basically concentrated in the westernmost part of the Japanese archipelago, which is closer to the East Asian mainland, such as Hirado, Tsushima, and Satsuma. The shogunate has limited control over these areas. , can only be adjusted little by little.

Nagasaki is a trading port launched by the shogunate against this background. In addition to trying to gradually bring Japan’s transnational trade to Nagasaki, it is also necessary to use this method to keep foreign missionaries that the shogunate has not welcomed from the country. .

Haihan had never sent intelligence personnel to Japan before this, so he didn't know much about Nagasaki, so he could only piece together the situation in Nagasaki through some fragmented information.A businessman like Yu Chengli who has been to the local area will definitely be able to provide more information than Amakusa Shiro, who was previously sent to the local area to carry out secret investigation missions.Moreover, the businessman's perspective on the local society must be different from that of the military, and the opinions given may be more valuable to Yang Yun.

If Yang Yun wanted to know the information about Nagasaki, the group of foreign businessmen brought back by the military from Hirado were undoubtedly the best subjects to ask.However, not all of these businessmen have been to Nagasaki, so he still has to spend time screening the conversation partners. At this time, Yu Chengli took the initiative to visit, and Yang Yun naturally would not let it go. This question is really right. people.

Under Yang Yun's careful questioning, Yu Chengli also slowly let go of his guard, and told Yang Yun what he knew.

He also thought very clearly that it was unlikely that he would return to Japan to run a business again, so whether Haihan would attack Nagasaki next would not have a direct impact on his future life.By cooperating well with the Haihan government right now, you may be able to leave a good impression in front of Mr. Yang, which will definitely be beneficial for you to do business in the area under Haihan's rule in the future.

Yang Yun asked carefully, and Yu Chengli answered in detail, which made it difficult for the few people in line behind Yu Chengli. After eating at noon, they sat in the meeting room on the second floor and waited for Yang Yun to be interviewed. They all waited drowsily.

Yu Chengli didn't want to miss this rare opportunity to build a good impression in front of Yang Yun. After more than an hour, his mouth was dry, and he almost emptied his mind of all the information related to Nagasaki.However, as Yang Yun's questions gradually deepened, he also gradually understood that if Hai Han really wanted to send troops to attack Nagasaki, then the official who asked him to find out the situation would probably not be Yang Yun.Therefore, the purpose of this conversation may not be due to military considerations, but the Haihan people are considering the possibility of opening up the Nagasaki trade route.

In fact, Yu Chengli didn't quite understand why he had just finished beating Hirado and then started doing business with the Japanese. Could it be that Haihan really didn't care about the other party's face or not?

Of course, Yang Yun would not give him a detailed explanation of the real reason why Haihan sent troops to attack Hirado. Apart from the confidential order issued by the high-level, the consideration of interests in the middle is too complicated, and even Yang Yun is not completely clear about the executive committee. All the reasons for the decision to go to war.

trading!Yang Yun is very clear about what direction he needs to focus on. As long as he can manage the trade activities in the Zhoushan colonial area well, his future will be bright.Why Japan was beaten, and why the boss tried to establish a trade relationship with Japan after the incident, those are not important. Yang Yun knew that he had to complete this task to prove his professional ability.

The information provided by Yu Chengli is undoubtedly of great reference value, at least it allows Yang Yun to examine the operation of Nagasaki Port from the perspective of a foreign businessman.Judging from Yu Chengli's description, Yang Yun can basically believe that the trade scale of Nagasaki Port is still relatively large compared with Dinghai Port, and even slightly inferior to Hirado Port.

Before Haihan sent troops to attack Hirado, the preferred trading port of foreign merchants in Japan was still Hirado with a relatively mature trading environment. Go to Nagasaki for trading.Later, the Portuguese were even banned from entering Japan for trade, so they could only sneak and settle in Hirado, which was not strictly supervised.

Yu Chengli believes that the destruction of Hirado Port will not only greatly reduce the scale of Japan's foreign trade in the short term, but will also lead to the direct withdrawal of Portuguese maritime merchants that have been banned from entering the Japanese market by the shogunate.Of course, regarding this loss, Haihan had provided Portugal with North Korea, an emerging market, in exchange in advance, so the Portuguese have not complained too much so far.

But Yu Chengli, who didn't know the inside story, believed that after the Portuguese withdrew from the Japanese market, the part of the market share they vacated would be divided between the Chinese maritime merchants and the Dutch.However, Yu Chengli still has an unspoken idea in his heart. If Haihan wants to intervene in Japan's foreign trade market at this time, no matter if it is Han or Dutch, it is estimated that it will be difficult to compete with the powerful Haihan.

However, what Yu Chengli never imagined was that although Haihan wanted to open up a trade route in Nagasaki, he did not plan to operate it himself at this stage, but wanted to find a reliable agent to be responsible for the implementation, so as to avoid attacks as much as possible. Negative effects caused by Hirado.

Yu Chengli was not included in Yang Yun's list of investigation objects at the beginning, because Yu Chengli's business scale in Hirado was not large, and there was still a gap between the threshold he had drawn up.Of course, the most important thing is that Yang Yun learned that Yu Chengli's main trading partners in Hirado are the families of the old and new feudal lords. Although they may not have anything to do with the Shibazhi Remnant Party, it is a hidden danger after all.

However, after today's conversation, Yang Yun's view of Yu Chengli has changed. He is not only knowledgeable and interesting in developing this businessman, but also has a lot of ideas in doing things. He is indeed a smart person. No wonder he can manage high-end routes in Hirado.

But this is at best to allow Yang Yun to temporarily include Yu Chengli in the investigation target list, and will not immediately consider Yu Chengli as a candidate for implementing the plan.Since Yu Chengli claimed that he did not intend to leave Zhoushan in the near future, Yang Yun planned to investigate him for a while before deciding whether to give him this great wealth.

After Yang Yun finished talking, he got up and transported Yang to the door of the office, and told him that if he needed any follow-up, he could come to the business office to find him. At that moment, Yu Chengli was flattered and thanked him before leaving.

When Yu Chengli passed the conference room, he found that the brothers behind him were all dozing off, and he was a little thankful for his good luck at the moment. If he hadn't had the courage to come to see Yang Yun, he wouldn't have been able to get along with Yang Yun. It has been such a long time to talk alone.

It's just that Yu Chengli still doesn't have a clear understanding of how much this conversation will have on his future career development.He doesn't know much about Haihan's agency system, otherwise he should be able to taste something from this meeting.

But no matter what, he has at least achieved the purpose of coming, and got the permission certificate signed by Yang Yun himself.With this thing, most of the islands in the Zhoushan colonial area can rest assured.

Yin Changxing was sitting at the foot of the wall outside the small building of the commercial office. When he saw Yu Chengli finally appearing, he quickly patted his butt and got up to meet him.

"Let's go, things are done, let's add more food tonight!" Yu Chengli showed off with some complacency.

Yin Changxing said congratulations, hurriedly went to the side and called a soft sedan chair, took Yu Chengli into the sedan chair, and then went back to the house.

In the evening, Yu Chengli summoned his subordinates and explained to them his recent plans.

If he stays in his old business in Zhoushan, he will have to face the competition with powerful local businessmen, and this is a very obvious disadvantage for him.Considering the cost of opening a store, Yu Chengli felt that it would be difficult to open up the situation in Zhoushan in the short term, so he hoped to try to find a stable sales channel first, and then consider the arrangement of purchasing land and property in Zhoushan.And the next trip to the islands of Zhoushan is to achieve this purpose.

Except for Yin Changxing, Yu Chengli's subordinates are all old people who have followed him for many years. Even Hirado Zhanluan followed him all the way to Seogwipo and then to Zhoushan. Naturally, he is the only one who follows his lead and will not question his decision. .

Yin Changxing, on the other hand, has always had the idea of ​​repaying his kindness. Now that Yu Chengli has expressed difficulties, if he leaves at this juncture, it would be too disrespectful.What's more, he had already greeted Xiu Nian before that, and he would follow Yu Chengli for a while, of course he had to do what he said.

Seeing that none of his subordinates expressed any objection, Yu Chengli was very relieved at the moment.After so many years in the business field, he has seen many cases of trees falling and monkeys scattered after closing down due to poor management.After being forced to evacuate from Hirado to Zhoushan, my business is in a very difficult period. At this time, I can still stick to it and still fully trust my subordinates, which is commendable.

After setting a general strategy, Yu Chengli asked everyone to pack their bags and prepare for the activities after leaving Zhoushan.Yu Chengli ordered a seasoned and prudent subordinate to stay in Zhoushan to handle orders from consignment merchants.Although there may not be any orders, but for Yu Chengli now, dried shrimps are also meat, and it is worthwhile to sell a little, and it is the last word to return the funds as soon as possible.

Early the next morning, Yu Chengli went to Dinghai Port in person to rent a suitable boat to leave Zhoushan. At the port, he ran into the Portuguese businessman Gonzalez who hadn't seen him for many days.

After the two arrived in Zhoushan, they were busy with their own affairs. Yu Chengli was too busy recently, and he didn't have time to contact Gonzalez. He never thought that they would meet at the port.

Yu Chengli cupped his hands and said, "Long time no see, how is Boss Gang doing?"

Gonzalez replied: "This place is not easy to mix! The competition is too fierce. After watching for half a month, I still haven't decided which line to do. How is Boss Yu?"

"To each other!" Yu Chengli sighed and said, "Zhoushan is indeed prosperous, but it is indeed a bit difficult for a businessman like us who is not high or low to do business here."

Most of the merchants who set up shop in Zhoushan are strong, many of them focus on wholesale business, and some are manufacturers themselves. Their relatively low operating costs are completely beyond the reach of outsiders like Yu Chengli and Gonzalez.

Although the scale of their business in Hirado was not small, when compared with other businesses in the environment of Zhoushan, the gap immediately appeared.Yu Chengli could only settle for the next best thing and choose to open up the township market. Although the space of this market is much smaller than the trade market in Dinghai Port, it is a goal he can strive for.

But Gonzalez has no conditions to choose Yu Chengli's approach. As a Portuguese, it is difficult for him to go deep into Haihan Township to do this kind of business for ordinary people.Even if he can speak Chinese, he will still be regarded as a different kind by the villagers, and it will be difficult for him to integrate into the local society as quickly as Yu Chengli.

"I'm planning to leave Zhoushan and visit North Korea." Gonzales said, "I heard that our country has negotiated trade terms with North Korea, and we can go to the capital of North Korea to do business."

Yu Chengli doesn't know much about North Korea, so he can't comment on whether Gonzalez's choice is good or bad, but he still has some doubts whether this destination is suitable for businessmen like them.

"North Korea is very close to Hai Han, and even Seogwipo can be lent to Hai Han as a temporary military camp. I'm afraid the capital of North Korea has already been flocked by Hai Han businessmen?"

Regarding Yu Chengli's reasonable doubts, Gonzalez could only respond with a wry smile: "What is the situation, you have to go to see it before you know. Maybe there will be some valuable local specialties, and you can make money by going there." It can be managed for more than half a year."

Yu Chengli didn't agree with Gonzalez's optimism, but he didn't open his mouth to refute him.When staying in Seogwipo, Yu Chengli had already carefully asked Yin Changxing if there were any particularly valuable products in North Korea, but maybe Yin Changxing had limited knowledge, or maybe North Korea really didn’t have any special products. In short, he didn’t get one. clear answer.

Of course, Seogwipo is a remote area of ​​North Korea after all, so it is definitely not as good as the capital. Maybe Gonzalez will find some good things there that are suitable for reselling back to Portugal.

However, Gonzalez's ship was confiscated by the Hirado Army during the Hirado War, and he could not get it back, so now he doesn't even have his own ship, so he can only find a ship to Seoul at Dinghai Port.

Both of them can only leave Zhoushan by boat now, and they can be regarded as brothers and sisters.It's just a matter of saying goodbye to the harbor, and I don't know when and where we will meet again next time.

"I hope that when we meet again next time, we have already made a lot of money, and we can sit down and have a good drink with peace of mind!"

"There will be that day, I believe it will not be too long."

The two bid farewell at the pier, and each embarked on an unknown journey.

(End of this chapter)