1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2275
Haihan's arms business can probably be regarded as one of the most profitable transactions in this era. Even though the prices of these weapons and equipment remain high, the delivery cycle is extremely long, and the purchase quantity is often restricted, they still cannot resist customers' purchases. Enthusiasm, all kinds of weapons and equipment within the scope of the export list are in a state of short supply all year round, and sometimes even have to go through cruel bidding to determine who can get the purchase qualification.

At the beginning, the behavior of the Mata blue people pushing a cart of gold bars to the outside of Victory Fort to buy weapons seemed like a joke, but in fact, this kind of situation with money coming to buy weapons has happened many times, but other forces do not have Mata The blue man did it so blatantly.

Sales have never been a problem for Haihan's arms trade.How to control the scale of military equipment imported by various countries from Haihan, so as to form a dynamic balance of power among themselves and with Haihan, is the most worrying issue for the relevant departments of Haihan.

Haihan deliberately arranged to display the most advanced weapons and equipment to guests from various countries. On the one hand, it was to deter all parties and continue Haihan's authoritative position in arms development. The munitions produced by technology will still be the best choice for them to update their armaments for a period of time to come.

Moreover, the particularity of this product is that it does not leave much room for customers to choose. After understanding the performance of these weapons, almost no one can still hold the idea of ​​​​"too expensive to buy" and sit and watch Others make big purchases.In consideration of their own security and international status, they all have to join this international arms race in the end.

The most notable example in this regard is Matalam and the Dutch East India Company. Both sides know that the other party will inevitably send troops to attack itself after its strength grows. Armed themselves, so both sides can only make purchases according to the upper limit of Haihan's supply.Whoever stops first may fall into a passive position and become the one being bullied.

Even if there are no such evil neighbors, after years of seeing how Haihan used force to expand his territory step by step, there are still many people who want to copy Haihan's fortune model and use powerful force to consolidate the rule and expand the sphere of influence ——At least to ensure that he will not become the target of others to expand their sphere of influence in the future.

In addition, as Haihan's military ally or trading partner, he must also prove his sincerity of cooperation with arms orders. Of course, it is not an exaggeration to understand it as a disguised protection fee.After all, only by taking the initiative to imitate Haihan in terms of military system can he win Haihan's trust and be protected by the military alliance headed by Haihan.

North Korea is a vivid example in this regard. Although this country has not joined the Haihan camp for a long time, and it has not even had time to purchase arms from Haihan to show its loyalty, it encountered a large-scale invasion by the Manchu Qing. Han still responded to North Korea's request for help in time, and organized a coalition force to go to North Korea to assist it in fighting against the Qing army.

What kind of remuneration North Korea will pay Haihan and other allies for this is another matter, but at least Haihan has set an excellent example in handling this matter, making all countries realize that they can ask Haihan for help in times of crisis.For this reason, he has compromised with Haihan in other aspects, or offered to send some benefits to Haihan. These originally somewhat unequal exchange conditions are worth looking at in a certain period of time.

According to the official information, the types of weapons and equipment that Haihan will sell to the outside world in the next year have not changed much compared to previous years, only minor repairs and routine upgrades have been made to some models.

"We will use new processing technology and better materials for the firearms manufactured in the next year, so that their shooting accuracy and effective range can be improved. At the same time, we will also upgrade some parts that are relatively easy to damage , in order to reduce the failure rate of the musket in use."

As the person in charge of Haihan Ordnance Industry, Bai Kesi was surrounded by a group of big customers at this time. He had to seize this opportunity to sell the next year's arms to customers.

Someone asked: "Master Bai, every year your country upgrades weapons in a small way. When will you be able to do it in one step and sell the renju rifle? Even if the price is more expensive!"

Bai Kesi said: "With regard to the sales arrangement of weapons and equipment, our country needs to consider many issues. First of all, it must meet the armed needs of the Haihan Army. Only when there is surplus production capacity, will there be spare capacity for foreign purchases. Like Lianzhu Gun Such advanced weapons, because the manufacturing process is extremely complicated, our output is far from meeting the needs of the army, and of course there is no way to sell them. The structure of the old-style muskets is simpler, and the manufacturing process is relatively mature, so they can still be produced every year. Some of them are supplied to countries. And we have been upgrading these old weapons based on the feedback from various countries. I think this should be beneficial to all parties.”

Beks used the lack of production capacity as an excuse. Of course, it is impossible to bluff everyone. The performance of Haihan's export weapons and equipment is far inferior to that of the same equipment installed by Haihan Army. This is no secret. A considerable number of export weapon models have even been Gradually eliminated in the Haihan army, this approach is clearly to maintain the military advantage over buyers while exporting weapons.

However, regarding this approach of Haihan, each family is also tacitly aware that they will not take the initiative to expose it, because once this layer of window paper is pierced, it may not be a good thing for the buyer.After all, the production capacity of advanced weapons is limited, and the price must be ridiculously expensive, maybe not everyone can afford it like it is now.At that time, maybe only one or two powerful customers will buy in large quantities. Wouldn't that instantly widen the gap in strength with other companies?
Therefore, the choice of most people is to accept Haihan's arrangement for arms sales, so that at least the weapons equipped by each company will remain at the same generation, and the gap in combat effectiveness will not be too outrageous.When the Haihan people open up the purchase of these advanced weapons in a few years, the price should drop to an acceptable level, so that all parties can continue to tacitly maintain a strategic balance.

However, the weapons that Haihan sells every year will have a small performance upgrade, which makes each company can't just look at it and not buy it, otherwise after a few years, it will also be opened up by other companies.At that time, we will consider large-scale replacement of equipment. First, the one-time military expenditure is huge, and second, it is very likely that we will not be able to purchase the desired weapons and equipment in a short period of time.Therefore, it is a more reasonable plan for most customers to purchase in batches and upgrade in batches within their own capabilities every year.Then those who want to take a wait-and-see attitude can only grit their teeth and keep up when they see other companies paying for purchases.

In this way, the arms orders received by Haihan each year will basically remain above a stable level, Haihan can make money, and all parties can maintain a strategic balance while upgrading their force. All are acceptable situations.

Of course, not everyone is satisfied with this arms trade system, such as the two special cases of the Netherlands and Ming Dynasty.They have always been more restricted in purchasing arms from Haihan than others, not only in terms of purchase quantity, but also in the types of weapons and equipment they can purchase.

Similar to cold weapons and armor, Haihan can provide unlimited supply in principle, you can buy as much as you want, and the quality and quantity are guaranteed.But long-range lethal weapons such as muskets and cannons, Holland and Daming can't just buy whatever they want.

To buy these weapons from Haihan, it is not only a matter of price, but also to agree to more exchange conditions, in order to get the required arms from Haihan as desired.

For the East India Company, which has a certain weapon manufacturing capability, it will not be too fatal for a while. Batavia has been vigorously building armed sailboats to expand its combat power at sea. As long as it survives this period, it can be found in the South China Sea If the iron ore is suitable for mining, the East India Company will soon be able to restore its ability to make its own weapons, and eliminate the gap in strength caused by the purchase of weapons from Haihan by Mata Lan.

Therefore, Su Keyi can pretend not to participate in these activities. When the arms sales period starts, buy as much as you can, and forget it if you can’t. You can’t compromise with Haihan again and again, and hand over the control of the Sunda Strait they want. .

However, Fei Cexian's situation is much more passive than Su Keyi's. Although the Dutch have been beaten several times by Haihan, and have even been deprived of such important seaside places as Anbuna Island, these places are only under their jurisdiction after all. Overseas colonies are not to the point of being injured.Many key locations along the coastline of Daming are under the control of Haihan, and Haihan may occupy a piece of land in the coastal area like Jinzhou at any time, and use this method to erode the territory of Daming step by step.

But at the same time, Daming had to rely on Haihan to hold back the pace of the Qing army going south in Liaodong, so he could only pretend to be deaf and dumb to Haihan's small movements.At the same time, in order to ease the pressure on the northern border and suppress the civil strife in the Central Plains, Ming also needed to purchase a large number of advanced weapons to enhance the combat effectiveness of the Ming army.

However, only relying on Daming's unilateral wishes cannot reach a deal. Haihan stated his position very early on and could sell arms to Daming, but Daming needs to give a clear attitude on the land dispute between the two countries.To put it bluntly, Daming must recognize Haihan's right to rule over the actual control area. As for the specific statement, it can be discussed. For example, it can follow Annan's practice and hand over the designated coastal port area to Haihan for management in the name of lease.

But Ming Dynasty regards itself as a heavenly kingdom, and since its founding, it has claimed that it will not be close to relatives, will not pay compensation, will not cede land, and will not pay tribute. Territory claims.From the perspective of the Ming court, it is nothing if they can't take back the territories occupied by Haihan. The two sides just need to maintain a tacit understanding on the surface. How can they blatantly give up these lands to Haihan.

Daming refused to let go, so Haihan set up restrictions in every aspect, making it difficult for Daming.According to the agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, Haihan will provide assistance including armaments to Daming, but the agreement does not specify the specific quantity, so the number of guns and artillery Haihan sells to Daming every year is also far lower than that of Daming. real need.

Although Fei Cexian would try his best every time, hoping to win some arms purchase quota for Da Ming, but basically it would not achieve the desired effect.Haihan Club used various excuses to limit Daming's purchases to an extremely low level, even far below the purchase scale of Xu Jiajun in Fujian.

Of course, Fei Cexian also understood that it was tricky, and after a few more times, he was unwilling to negotiate this matter with Haihan's senior management, lest he would humiliate himself.You can buy as much as you can, and you can't follow Xu Xinsu's example and exchange Daming's face for Haihan's assistance.

But this martial arts competition also made Fei Cexian realize that more and more local forces in the coastal areas of Daming have defected to Haihan. Among them are not only local officials like Xu Xinsu, but also people with deep backgrounds like Fu Ruifeng. Business predators.If the Ming court cannot effectively supervise and restrict it, then perhaps after a few years, the coastal states of the Ming Dynasty will become the territories of Haihan one after another.

Therefore, when the envoys of various countries are trying their best to obtain more arms procurement quotas for the next year from Haihan's high-level officials, Fei Cexian has returned to the embassy to write, detailing in the memorial that many teams participating in the tournament are from Ming Dynasty The armed forces remind the court that it is necessary to strengthen supervision measures in these places and try to resist the continuous infiltration of Haihan in the local area.

"There are thieves in all the coastal prefectures colluding with Haihan inside and outside, building their own private army to fight against the imperial court. There are too many such acts of disobedience. If we continue to sit idly by, Haihan will surely make progress and erode our Ming territory. My minister boldly suggests that the Weapons Bureau of the Ministry of War and the Bing Zhang Bureau of the Neifu should step up the imitation of Haihan's standard weapons, so as to get rid of dependence as soon as possible and launch countermeasures against Haihan..."

Fei Cexian had a lot of insights in the past two days, and he started to write eloquently until midnight.When he stopped writing to review the manuscript, he realized that his wrist was so sore that he could only rub it slowly to relieve it.Fei Cexian sighed, thinking that with all his painstaking efforts, he wondered if the Holy Majesty and the high officials of the court could feel the same and take action.

In fact, these questions raised by Fei Cexian, these ideas, how could the high-level people in the court fail to consider them, but the solution is not as easy as his writing, the conflicts of local interests, military technology, etc. The huge gap is not a problem that can be solved immediately by the imperial court.

What's more, the military pressure faced by the northern defense line is increasing year by year. If there is no Haihan to hold back the Qing army in Liaodong, the situation is likely to deteriorate sharply.Compared with the capital city of Gyeonggi, which needs to face the invasion of the Qing army, the short-term ownership of several Linhai prefectures and counties is obviously not so important.

(End of this chapter)