1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 222 The Trip to Vietnam ([-])

"My lord, this convenience is the place where we agreed to meet the Haihan people!"

After hearing these words, Zheng Zuo recovered from his contemplation, and said to the steward standing beside him: "The white strange ship before, is it the ship of the Haihan people?"

The steward replied: "I have never seen that white boat when I traded with the Haihan people a few times ago, but according to the seventh son who was sent back by the Haihan people a few days ago, the Haihan people do have such a strange sailboat. It can fly like flying on the sea."

Zheng Zuo nodded slightly. The seventh son mentioned by the manager is Zheng Lin who was sent back to Shenglong Mansion by the Haihan people before. In terms of seniority, Zheng Zuo and Zheng Lin are of the same generation, and Zheng Lin ranks seventh in the Zheng family's generation. , Zheng Zuo is a little older.

When Zheng Lin was sent back to Thang Long Mansion, he also brought back the refined salt samples presented by Haihan and the trade requirements.For North Vietnam, which was suffering from a salt shortage, this news was undoubtedly a timely help. Soon the Zheng family sent a caravan to contact Haihan, and successfully completed the first transaction of two thousand catties of refined salt.To others, the Haihan people may be nothing more than a group of ordinary foreign maritime merchants, and trading salt is only for profit, but Zheng Zuo is very curious about the origin of these people, and has carefully asked Zheng Lin about the Haihan people Case.

According to Zheng Lin, these Haihan people only appeared on the coast of Vietnam in July. After they used a fleet to pack a group of refugees in Qinghua, they went directly to a small bay in the northeast to build a port, and then used In a short period of time, thousands of local people were recruited to mine and mine coal there.By the time he was sent away by the Haihan people, the port had become a large-scale town, and thousands of residents began to live a stable and orderly life there under the management of the Haihan people.

It only took more than a month to build a town and port in a deserted place. Zheng Zuo believed that this was not something that ordinary maritime merchants could do.Moreover, according to what Zheng Lin said, only clean coal is produced in the local area, and no salt farms have been established, so the refined salt transported and traded by the Haihan people must have come from elsewhere—perhaps it was the destination where the local clean coal was shipped.

Later, there was another message from Haihan that the other party wanted to sell arms, and now Zheng Zuo couldn't sit still.It's fine if it's an ordinary weapon. There is a government-run Weapons Department in Shenglong Mansion, which specializes in making weapons for the army, but the other party has explained that they are selling guns and artillery, and the Weapons Department can't make such things.

Although the current Vietnamese army has not started to equip firearms, this does not mean that the senior military personnel in Vietnam do not know the power of firearms.In fact, since the 16th century, a variety of relatively primitive matchlock guns have begun to flow into Vietnam through various channels, but this sporadic influx is not enough to equip the army at all, and can only become a plaything collected by a few dignitaries.However, Vietnamese craftsmen have never been able to master the manufacturing technology of muskets, which directly led to the inability of large-scale manufacturing of such weapons in Vietnam.As for the cannons, they are even rarer. The only few cannons in Shenglong Mansion are old antiques left over from the Ming Dynasty. It is hard to say whether they can be used now.

After the Zheng family took control of the North Vietnamese regime, they also had plans to purchase firearms to equip the troops, but they have been suffering from lack of such access.Most of the western missionaries who could provide firearms were active in the south, and they disappeared in the north after the war between the north and the south.And Da Ming in the north is obviously even more unlikely to sell such advanced weapons to the Thang Long Mansion. The Emperor Da Ming may wish that Vietnam would become a mess, and then send troops to clean up the mess and reoccupy this place.Although Zheng has the heart of strengthening the army, he has no suitable channels to achieve this goal.

However, the appearance of the Haihan people seemed to bring a glimmer of light to the Zheng family. Now Zheng Zuo did not dare to regard the trade relationship with the Haihan people as a way to make quick money, but hurriedly reported it to his father Zheng Bing.As the actual controller of North Vietnam's military and political power, Zheng Bing naturally knew very well what arms trading meant. Now that a businessman came to his door and was willing to sell guns and artillery to North Vietnam, at least he had to go and see if it was true or not.Out of prudent considerations, Zheng Bing was not at ease in letting an outsider take charge of the matter, but asked his eldest son Zheng Zuo to come and get in touch with the Haihan people to see what the other party meant.

The two ships sent by the Zheng family caravan this time were not sea ships, so when they sailed into the harbor and docked, the hulls of the ships appeared to be much smaller than the two lucky boats on the shore.And Zheng Zuo also noticed that the white sailboat has been cruising on the sea not far away, which made Zheng Zuo, who originally planned to observe the ship up close, a little disappointed.

After Zheng Zuo got off the boat and landed, he first noticed that the clothes the other party greeted him were obviously different from those of the Ming people. They were almost all waist-length short clothes, and their hair was short without even a bun. It should be Zheng Lin's. Said Haihan people.

The steward brought by Zheng Zuo and Qian Tiandun have met twice in the past transactions, and they will introduce the protagonists of the two sides respectively.Tao Donglai was also refreshed when he heard the other party's identity. Although according to most people's opinion, Vietnam is just a foreign country, Zheng Zuo can be regarded as a famous person in history. This is the first time after crossing. Having come into contact with historical figures of this level, it can be said that the existence of the time-traveling group has truly begun to affect the historical process of this time and space.

After the two sides exchanged a few words, Tao Donglai invited Zheng Zuo and others to enter the tent set up on the shore to discuss.After taking his seat, Tao Donglai said straight to the point: "About your proposal to expand the trading volume of salt, after careful consideration, we believe that we can provide you with 20 catties of salt in the remaining three months, and we can wait until next year. Further increase the trading volume to [-] catties per month. This time our fleet brought [-] catties of refined salt, which can be inspected and traded later.”

"Why is this? Could it be that you can't produce the quantity we requested?" Zheng Zuo asked in puzzlement.

"It's not just because of the output." Tao Donglai denied Zheng Zuo's guess calmly: "It's because we also need to provide a large amount of refined salt to Daming. I think Mr. Zheng can also understand that the amount that Daming needs It is far more than several times your side."

Although the private salt sales network in Daming has not yet been rolled out, this does not prevent Tao Dong from pulling the tiger's skin as a banner, and blowing a big cowhide first, anyway, the other party can't verify the truth of this statement now.

Zheng Zuo snorted and said, "You must be selling Daming's salt, and you are not following a serious path, right?"

Tao Donglai shook his head and said, "We only sell salt to regular merchants. As for where they sell it, how they sell it, and whether they will pay taxes to the government, we don't know and won't ask. Our problem."

When Tao Dong said this, his eyes kept staring at Zheng Zuo, which made Zheng Zuo feel a little uneasy in his heart.Of course he could understand that Tao Donglai's words were actually meant for himself, but he always felt that while the other party was separating the relationship, there seemed to be some kind of overtones that he couldn't understand.

Tao Donglai saw that the other party had no reaction after listening to it. He knew that the other party was probably too young and inexperienced to understand his cryptic statement, so he had no choice but to say more bluntly: "The principle of our Haihan selling products is Making money is the most important thing. Whether it is salt or other things, it is a sale to us, and selling to anyone is a sale, the difference is only making money and not making money.”

Now Zheng Zuo understood, nodded and said: "If we ask you to only trade with us in Vietnam, what do you think?"

Regional agency monopoly rights, this is one of the important means for the Group to expand its business activities outward.Because the supply of Haihan products is in short supply, every businessman who has a trade relationship with the Transcend Group hopes to have this exclusive power in order to increase their competitive advantage in the region.At present, individuals or firms such as Luo Shengdong, Anfuhang, and Furuifeng have obtained regional agency monopoly rights of various levels, large or small, and almost every businessman who has obtained such power has already made a lot of money .

As long as the people sent by the North Vietnamese Zheng family are not fools, of course they should be able to imagine how powerful this kind of monopoly is - although Zheng Zuo is a little tender, he still quickly realized this.Although the Zheng family is in charge of the military and political power in North Vietnam, Zheng Zuo does not intend to use this power to threaten the Haihan people to achieve his own goals, such as allowing the Zheng family to monopolize the trading channels of Haihan refined salt.Whether the Haihan people will sell more goods or not, the key is that if the Haihan people are offended, the other party will no longer sell salt to North Vietnam, which is really a very troublesome thing, not to mention the follow-up. The arms business needs to be discussed in detail.

Seeing that the other party was still able to keep up with the train of thought, Tao Donglai relaxed a little, and began to ask the other party conditions: "If you can agree to our two conditions, then we can give you Commodity monopoly rights in areas north of Guangzhi and Guangzhi."

"What conditions?" Zheng Zuo asked calmly.He is not a child, so he naturally knows that the other party cannot give him such benefits for no reason. Since it is a deal, he must pay some price.Moreover, the other party clearly put forward the concept of "the area north of Hue and Quang Tri", which shows that the other party is very clear about the current domestic situation, and may send envoys to the south to negotiate business with the Nguyen regime.

Thinking of this possibility, Zheng Zuo felt a little nervous—the goods that the Haihan people could sell to the Zheng family could also be sold to the Ruan family, not only refined salt, but also what they called guns and artillery.

The Nguyen clan in the south is said to have conquered most of Champa, and the wealth of the royal family of Champa has probably become owned by the Nguyen. Facing the military suppression of North Vietnam, the Nguyen might really Will invest a lot of money to buy weapons from outside.The soldiers of North Vietnam would not want to see a southern rebel armed with firearms on the battlefield, at least they should not use iron knives and guns to face those projectiles that can penetrate armor.

"The conditions we put forward are very simple. First, we hope to set up commercial warehouses and ports on the Tushan Peninsula... well, that is, where we are now, so that we can store goods and station personnel in charge of trade. , it will be more convenient to conduct transactions with you in this place in the future." Tao Donglai put forward the first condition with a smile: "Of course, for this, we may need to hire some laborers from the local area and send them to Some armed personnel to maintain law and order. This is a plan proposed for the long-term trade cooperation with you in the future, I think Mr. Zheng will not object, right?"

Zheng Zuo pondered for a long while before asking noncommittally: "Then what is the second condition?"

"The second condition is the black earth port we built in the northeast. I believe you already know about it, and I hope you can recognize the legitimacy of its existence." Tao Donglai didn't seem to understand his own words when he saw Zheng Zuo. Then he continued to explain: "The so-called legality includes the right of the Haihan people to settle in the local area, the right of the Annan people to accept our employment and settle in the black soil port, and we enjoy the local administrative autonomy and the power of judging by the rule of law."

It was fine if Tao Donglai didn't explain, but this explanation made Zheng Zuo even more confused.He has never even heard what the other party said, let alone fully understood the meaning.But despite this, Zheng Zuo still had a general understanding of what the other party wanted to achieve-the Haihan people seemed to hope to allow the coal-producing port they established in the northeast to gain an independent status.

With regard to the safety of Black Earth Port, the executive committee has spent a lot of thought. From the time of site selection, security and external defense have been the top priorities of overseas bases.However, due to the current strength, Heitu Port has neither sea force protection nor coastal fortification defense, and even the military and police force is only about a hundred people, which can only play a role in maintaining law and order internally, and the external defense force can be said to be extremely limited.

And as the trade between the Traversing Group and the North Vietnamese regime unfolds, the other party will definitely notice the existence of the Black Earth Port.Whether the North Vietnamese regime will be dissatisfied with this nail in the northeast of the country is anyone's guess.Heitu Port is only [-] nautical miles away from the mouth of the sea near Haiphong. Even the navy with the scum of the North Vietnam War can go there. For Heitu Port, external military threats still exist.

Therefore, the Executive Committee wants to seize the opportunity of trade and reach an agreement with the North Vietnamese regime as much as possible to legalize the existence of the Black Earth Port.Even if this kind of agreement is only temporary, it would be good if it can guarantee the local peace for three to five years - the military and police department has full confidence that at that time, any force that dares to invade the black earth port will be beaten out.

Zheng Zuo didn't express his opinion in a hurry, but began to think about the purpose of the other party's two conditions.Tao Donglai's first condition was not a problem in Zheng Zuo's opinion. The place was originally uninhabited, the terrain was narrow and there was no food to grow, and there was no production, so it had no practical value at all.The only thing worthy of praise here is probably only two natural harbors that are more suitable for ships to dock. Perhaps the Haihan people who came across the sea took a fancy to this.As for building a business store and stationing personnel here, Zheng Zuo thinks it is not a big deal. In the future, the transactions between the two parties can be carried out here at a fixed point, saving the time of passing messages back and forth every time. It is really as convenient as the other party said.

As for the armed men that Tao Donglai mentioned, Zheng Zuo didn't take it seriously. Which big family doesn't have a few thugs to guard the house?Since the Haihan people want to build warehouses here to store goods, they must have some guards stationed here. This requirement sounds very reasonable.

"I can agree to your first condition, but this second condition..." Zheng Zuo was a little hesitant about Tao Donglai's second condition.

The Tushan Peninsula is fine, the Haihan people are just opening a store and building a small pier. No matter how they make troubles, this place is only so big. At best, it is the difference between a large store and a small store.

But the meaning of Heitu Port is different from that of Tushan Peninsula.Not only have thousands of people settled in the area, but there is also a steady stream of coal production, which is equivalent to producing money. It is unreasonable not to place this kind of place under the government.And now the Haihan people actually propose to hand over that piece of land to their own management, isn't this extremely absurd?As for the fact that the Black Soil Port was developed by the Haihan people, this reason was not considered by Zheng Zuo at all—it was just a group of maritime merchants who built some houses on the land of An Nanguo and wanted to demarcate that land Own it?no way!

But the current situation is not that simple. Zheng Zuo wanted to reject Tao Donglai's condition, but he had to worry about what attitude the Haihan people would take to the North Vietnamese regime after the rejection.Now the goods sold by the other party are not only refined salt, but also important national weapons such as guns and artillery. Before coming here, Zheng Yan has repeatedly told him to confirm whether the weapons provided by the Haihan people are usable and whether they can be provided for a long time.As for the other terms of the transaction, Zheng Yi said that they can be considered as appropriate, but this involves the territorial issue of An Nanguo, so how should this be considered at discretion?

Zheng Zuo knows that his father attaches great importance to territorial issues. Now the Ruan clan in North Vietnam wants to attack the remnants of the Mo clan in the mountains in the north and the Ruan clan rebels in the south. In the final analysis, it’s not all about unifying Annan’s territory. .In Zheng Zuo's view, the request of the Haihan people is no different from the act of dividing the border and splitting the soil. Even if he agrees here, he will definitely not be able to pass the test when he comes to the old man.

If you agree to the conditions of the Haihan people, you will not be able to pay the job when you go back. If you don’t agree, you are afraid that you will offend the Haihan people and mess up the source of arms that is finally getting a little bit of attention. Zheng Zuo is really in a dilemma for a while.

After a long time, Zheng Zuo showed embarrassment and said: "It is too embarrassing for you to raise this second condition, please forgive me for not being able to agree."

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(End of this chapter)