1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2257
Since the signing of the alliance with the Haihan Fleet on the Han River in 1636, North Korea has been trying to follow the example of Haihan and establish a powerful armed force so that it can get rid of the powerless resistance that has been surrounded by powerful enemies for a long time. dilemma.

Haihan didn't hide his secrets, he made it very clear that as long as North Korea gave the money, not only could it buy weapons and equipment, but it could even train the army on its behalf.

And this is the weakness of North Korea. The economic foundation of this agricultural country itself is very weak. In recent decades, it has been continuously invaded and plundered by Japan and the Manchu Qing. The war last year made the towns north of the Datong River almost All were destroyed, resulting in extremely limited funds for post-war reconstruction.

Under the traumatic situation, North Korea had to use the many assets jointly developed by the two countries on the banks of the Datong River as collateral to borrow from Haihan Bank to maintain the operation of the main institutions of the imperial court and the post-war reconstruction work in the northern region.

Under such circumstances, it is not easy to squeeze out a little budget from the finances to send a group of elite personnel to study in Sanya. As for the military budget, it can only be compressed and then compressed, streamlined and streamlined.

To order large quantities of arms and equipment from Haihan, North Korea will definitely not be able to get the money at present, and can only exchange resources, or use asset mortgages in exchange for special loans issued by Haihan.But no matter which way it is, it is an extremely difficult decision for North Korea.

Li Yan also knew that the country's financial situation was very bad, so he was not as excited as others when he heard the news announced by Tao Donglai.People are holding real money and waiting for Haihan to start selling, but North Korea can only see if there are any second-hand equipment that has been replaced for sale, just like they bought a batch of old-style equipment seized from the Spaniards from Haihan before. The weapon, although it is not known how many second-hand goods it is, but it can still be used to make do with tinkering.

Of course, whether to buy or not is another matter. As an ally of Haihan and a major military partner, North Korea certainly has the right to know about Haihan's foreign arms sales, so Li Yi will not be absent from this kind of arms sale. display activities.If there are weapons and equipment at a reasonable price, Li Yi can actually use the little reserves left in the royal treasury to buy some back in small batches—he estimates that the weapons and equipment of the Haihan army are about one company, and he should still be able to barely afford them. afford it.

Of course, such a small amount of weapons can't do much, and probably can only be distributed to officers who have received Haihan's training, so that they can further familiarize themselves with the performance of weapons.In this way, when the troops are replaced with standard weapons on a large scale in the future, the commanders will have a clearer understanding of the combat effectiveness of their troops.

However, the current occasion did make Li Yan a little embarrassed. He is now standing with Zheng Zuo, the young prince of Annan, Luo Keen, the ambassador of Champa, and Li Nai, the third young master of Furuifeng. How much munitions did Haihan purchase.

"My business doesn't have much demand for this, so the Golden Shield Escort needs to purchase some muskets, and by the way, replace all the matchlock guns I bought in the early years... It is estimated that three or four hundred pieces will be enough. If there are too many, I probably won't need them. " Li Nai stated very low-key that Fu Ruifeng would not compete with other companies for large orders, but even so, it was enough to make Li Yan next to him feel jealous.

Li Yan thought to himself that the Golden Shield was just a bodyguard company under the Fu Ruifeng Company, and the strength of purchasing weapons seemed to be stronger than that of North Korea. It seemed that the rumors that the Li family in Guangzhou was as rich as an enemy country were not completely unfounded.

Rocken said: "The third young master is really humble. I heard that the Golden Shield Convoy will set up a branch in Saigon Port in my Champa Kingdom this year. Presumably it is not enough to just buy a few hundred muskets. Haihan's exploration-class warship should also How many will you buy?"

Although the war between Annan and Champa has been signed under the mediation of Haihan, the two countries have been secretly competing with each other, and border conflicts still occur occasionally.After hearing what Luo Keen said, Zheng Zuo snorted coldly and said, "Golden Shield established a semicolon in Vung Tau Port last year. When it's your turn in Saigon, it should be a small office under the semicolon! What's the use? To be equipped with hundreds of muskets, Lord Luo is too self-sufficient!"

At this time, Saigon, which belonged to the Champa Kingdom, was Ho Chi Minh City in later generations. It was only a few hundred miles away from the Vung Tau Port, which belonged to the Annan Kingdom. While Vung Tau Port was adjacent to the sea, Saigon was located in the upper reaches of the inland Saigon River. If it is convenient to use sea transportation In terms of sex, the port of Vung Tau does have a lot of advantages.It is also because of this that in the process of competing for the first shipping hub port at the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula, Champa and Annan refused to give in to each other.

Although Jindun is just a escort company for escorting goods, wherever Jindun opens, it means where Furuifeng's business network extends, and only through trade can these remote ports develop rapidly. This has already been achieved through Sanya, the most Good examples are well documented.Whether it is Annan or Champa, they all hope that the next port of Sanya can appear on their own territory.

In fact, as part of the return provided to Haihan, Vung Tau Port is an area jointly managed by Haihan and Annan.Nominally it belongs to Annan's territory, but in fact it is operated and managed by Haihan, and a small part of the income will be assigned to Annan as the rent here.Of course, this complex ownership will not prevent Zheng Zuo from regarding Vung Tau Port as Annan's asset and using it as a tool to belittle his competitors.

Although Zhancheng is on the weak side in the competition between the two countries, it is now also a member of the international alliance created by Haihan, so Luo Keen did not intend to swallow Zheng Zuo's ridicule, and immediately counterattacked: "Your Excellency, you don't have to do this Excited, the cooperation between our country and Furuifeng is of course not as simple as the establishment of a semicolon by Golden Shield, and I will look back in a few years, I hope you can still laugh at that time."

Compared with natural ports such as Da Nang, Qui Nhon, and Cam Ranh, Vung Tau's natural conditions are not unique, but its geographical location is just at the mouth of the Saigon River, and Hai Han had not yet formed an alliance with Champa at that time. Vung Tau was established as Hai Han's trading hub at the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula.But in terms of its geographical conditions, it can only be built as a trading port, and it is not suitable for large-scale construction and development around this location.

Although Saigon is located tens of miles inland from the coastline, there is a wide Saigon River as a shipping channel. In addition, the local Saigon City is a populated place, and the surrounding fertile Saigon Plain is enough to feed millions of people. , Therefore, after Haihan established diplomatic relations with Champa, it took Saigon as one of its development targets.

The plains near Saigon are very suitable for the construction of large-scale farms and plantations, and the raw materials provided by these basic agricultural industries can also drive the local agricultural product deep processing industry, thereby greatly improving the local economic level.Of course, this process is easy to say, but it will take several years to really see the effect.

However, with the successful example of Haihan, it is relatively easy to promote this agricultural development model in the local area.The commercial capital headed by Haihan has enclosed a large amount of land near Saigon, which is often thousands of acres, and then hires local labor to reclaim and cultivate these lands.

And well-informed and keen-sighted merchants like Furuifeng will naturally not miss the great opportunity for investment layout.At this stage, the opening of the Golden Shield branch in Saigon may not be able to receive much business from the local area, but the significance of the existence of the Golden Shield is not entirely to make a profit by escorting valuable goods, but also to protect Fu Rui Feng's safety and interests during local operations.

Wherever Golden Shield is opened, there are important interests of Furuifeng, which has become a common sense in the international trade circle.Even if ordinary people don't know it, people like Zheng Zuo and Luo Keen certainly don't understand the symbolic meaning of this signal.Even Li Yan, who has only been in Sanya for less than a year, can think that this matter is probably not what Zheng Zuo belittled.

Luo Keen knew very well that the future development of Saigon would inevitably exceed that of the congenitally deficient Vung Tau Port, so he had the confidence to ask Zheng Zuo to look at what happened today in a few years.

However, this kind of dispute inevitably puts Li Nai in the middle. As the operator of Golden Shield, he had to speak embarrassingly to dissuade them from continuing the debate: "Listen to me, Golden Shield is just a small business. I can't believe you two are so concerned about it! Golden Shield is indeed going to open a semicolon in Saigon, but the guns you plan to buy will definitely not be sent to Saigon."

Zheng Zuo said: "The third young master is honest and honest, unlike some villains who are secretive, of course I believe you."

Luo Keen said: "Whether Fu Ruifeng or Jindun is good, making money is the last word. In two or three years, when the time comes to see the business situation, the third young master will definitely be proud of such a decision!"

Li Nai quickly changed the subject and said, "Then what weapons and equipment do you plan to purchase?"

In this case, they will naturally not tell the truth.Zheng Zuo laughed and said, "According to our country's practice, of course we should buy some of each."

"Buy all kinds of things... the little prince is buying vegetables in the market?" Luo Keen still remembered the festival just now, and immediately taunted Zheng Zuo.

Zheng Zuo sneered and said, "I, Annan, have military expenses, so I can buy whatever I want, so you don't have to be so jealous!"

Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, Li Nai quickly turned to Li Yan who was watching the excitement and asked, "Excuse me, my lord, does your country have any plans for military purchases?"

When he asked this question, both Zheng Zuo and Luo Keen stopped resentfully.This is not just a matter of diplomatic etiquette, they really want to know how dependent North Korea, a northern country, is on Haihan weapons through a few words of information.

Of course, it is impossible for Li Yan to tell the truth, so he can only respond vaguely: "Our country only experienced a major war last year, and now it is in the post-war reconstruction period. There are many places where money is needed, and probably won't be spent on purchasing weapons for the time being. How much is it?"

Zheng Zuo said: "My son's words are wrong. Didn't your country ask for help from Haihan last year because of its lack of military strength, and then the coalition forces went north to assist your country in the war against the Qing Dynasty. Although the war has come to an end, it must be full of ambitions If it is not lost, sooner or later you will come to trouble your country. Forming a strong army is the top priority. What's more, your country has sent a group of soldiers to Sanya for further studies. Isn't the purpose of forming a new army after returning to China? Army?"

What Zheng Zuo said sounded very reasonable, but Li Yan had no way to refute it for a while, so he could only say with a wry smile: "The little prince is right, but every family has scriptures that are difficult to recite, and it is not so easy to form a new army." things..."

Li Yan didn't want to expose his shortcomings in front of outsiders, but discussing this topic would indeed make him feel very embarrassed.

Fortunately, Li Nai saw his embarrassment and took the initiative to help him out, saying: "The country is based on the people. After the war, your country will first solve the problems left by the war. That is also a manifestation of the king's love for the people. It is so good."

Li Yan glanced at Li Nai gratefully, nodded and said: "Last year's war caused hundreds of thousands of civilians in our country to be destroyed and displaced. I think you have heard about it. If the livelihood problems of these people cannot be solved as soon as possible, there will be a There may be great chaos. To say something that may offend the third young master, isn’t it because Daming has been in constant civil turmoil these years because it has not properly resolved the people’s livelihood?”

Li Nai replied: "It's okay, this is the fact. The refugees in the Central Plains are like locusts. They evacuate wherever they go. As a result, there are more and more places that cannot engage in agricultural production, and more and more people are born. Refugees. The imperial court can’t help so many people, and the refugees will take risks in order to survive, burning, killing and looting under the command of a few wicked people, making the local situation worse and worse. Your country’s method of helping refugees first should be effective Avoid chaos like Daming."

Li Nai had discussed Daming's internal and external troubles with the high-level executives of Haihan many times, so he has a thorough understanding of this issue, and can give his own opinions from a more objective perspective.As for the situation of the Korean war last year, there were numerous detailed reports in the official newspaper issued by Haihan, so the few people present were no strangers to the situation at that time, and they also understood that what Li Yi said was not false.

As for why Zheng Zuo believed that strengthening military construction was more important than appeasing civilians and organizing post-war reconstruction, it was because the special historical environment Annan was in at that time was different from that of North Korea.At that time, Annan had strong support from Haihan, and for his own development, Haihan collected a large number of homeless war refugees from Annan and sent them to Hainan Island for resettlement.

This measure alleviated the pressure on Annan’s livelihood after the war to a certain extent. In addition, he exchanged multiple ports for Haihan’s strong support in terms of weapons and equipment and personnel training. Therefore, Annan’s armed strength after the war has improved by leaps and bounds. The speed is increasing.The reasons for this are complicated, but from Zheng Zuo's point of view, after the civil war, Annan spent much more resources on military construction than people's livelihood, and it has achieved quite good results.It's just that such an approach is unlikely to be used in North Korea, which has a completely different situation.

(End of this chapter)