1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2634
Of course, steelmaking is not Haihan's unique skill, and other countries have already mastered the basic smelting methods.But how to smelt a large amount of refined steel at an extremely low cost, and use it as a raw material to produce a large number of weapons and equipment with exquisite craftsmanship and reliable performance at a very high efficiency, this is not what Ming and other countries can do It is something that can only be realized by Haihan, which has already started the process of industrialization.

With North Korea's current national strength, if it wants to manufacture such weapons and equipment by itself, the cost will be astonishingly high, and the quality may not be reliable.Since there are ready-made standard equipment provided by Haihan, and it is cheaper and easier than making it yourself, it is not difficult to make a choice.

But Zhu Zian immediately thought of a deeper question. If a country relies on other countries for its most sophisticated weapons and equipment, how much strength can this country have?It's no wonder that the North Korean National Assembly has become a fool, and seeing the decline of Ming Dynasty, they turned around and took refuge in Haihan.

But think about Daming again. Didn’t it also beg for weapons and equipment from foreigners at the beginning? From the purchase of Portuguese artillery during Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua’s time, to the sneaky smuggling of Haihan arms later on, Daming spent a lot of money on purchasing weapons and equipment.However, relying on these methods to enhance the strength of the Ming army is still insufficient after all, and it is still unable to resist the decline caused by internal and external troubles.

Zhu Zian's thoughts were fluttering, while the conversation between Yang Yun and everyone was still going on.Of course, North Korea and Japan are not reconciled to the huge trade deficit with Haihan, especially North Korea, which has a close relationship with Haihan, has been trying to use the technology provided by Haihan to upgrade some industries in order to improve its international reputation. position in trade.

However, such efforts have not been effective so far. North Korea still mainly exports low-value raw materials. The so-called high-end goods produced after its industrial upgrading are still difficult to be included in the procurement list by Haihan merchants.

"When you go to North Korea, everyone, if you see some local products you are interested in, you can buy a little bit. As for other things, just look at them casually. It's not worth spending money." Yang Yun paused, and then continued: "I want to come to North Korea. The officials should also prepare generous gifts and give away all the things they can get their hands on. At that time, you can get a general understanding of the local products. However, Japan, although it has an old grudge with our country, has its own history since the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Inherited culture, some handicrafts over there are quite good.”

Bai Letong said: "In the market in Sanya, you can often see exquisite objects such as Japanese lacquerware, and the selling price is not cheap."

Tao Hongfang said with a smile: "This kind of thing is limited by the production process, and the production capacity is extremely limited. It is rare in the market, so naturally it is expensive."

Tao Hongfang has been in the Ministry of Commerce for a long time, and his perspective on things is more rational, and he doesn't think too much about added value such as culture and art.In his opinion, the Japanese lacquerware transported to the Sanya market by ocean-going voyages is far less practical than the porcelain and glassware produced in the country. To buy such ware is to buy a rarity and keep it as a collection at home.

Yang Yundao: "One more thing, I forgot to mention just now, in order to cooperate with this mission, Mr. Shi specially recruited officials who are familiar with the situation of Japan and Japan to accompany him, that is, the two who came here to introduce the immigration situation to you. "

Tao Hongfang asked: "But the two of them seem to be of civilian origin, are they able to carry out diplomatic missions?"

Yang Yundao: "It is precisely because they are civilians that they really understand the local customs and customs, and they can also act as translators in the mission. As for the real diplomatic negotiations, there will be our country's officials stationed abroad to assist you , don’t worry about that.”

Both Xiu Nian and Yin Changxing came from grassroots backgrounds, and they have a better understanding of the people's conditions in the two countries. They were sent to accompany them on the trip, mainly as advisors for the mission, and diplomacy was not their task.However, such a transfer is an internal matter of the Donghai Region, and they actually have no right to comment on Shi Diwen's decision.

The next day, at the invitation of Wang Anguo, Tao Hongfang and others went to the temporary residence of the immigrants to check their training before the trip.

Among the group of immigrants who were about to follow Wang Anguo to settle on the other side of the ocean, most of them were recruited through various channels, except for a group of technocrats with official transfer orders.

Of course, these people are willing to leave their hometowns and settle thousands of miles away. It is definitely not because they adore Wang Tom and follow him regardless. People with that kind of thinking have already followed Wang Tom three years ago. .People who join the immigration team today basically take a fancy to the preferential treatment given by the government, hoping to change their own destiny.

"As long as they arrive at their destination alive, each of them will get a residence and a field, and a good settlement fee, and they will not have to pay any taxes to the government for the next ten years. If they want to run a local farm, or something If they don’t have enough capital for business, we will also try to provide them with support, such as providing them with interest-free loans, various seedlings, poultry and livestock, in short, we will ensure that they can have a good livelihood.”

Wang Anguo looked at these immigrants who were learning deck operation passwords, and introduced their situation to Tao Hongfang and others: "We have recruited more than 1000 immigrants this time. Then we can slowly build up this transoceanic route, and continue to recruit immigrants from China and transport them there.”

Ning Zijing smiled and said, "Brother An Guo, your recruitment conditions are really expensive!"

Wang Anguo replied with a wry smile: "There is no other way, otherwise, who wants to spend a few months on the sea and settle in such a distant place, and maybe after going there, he will never be able to return to his hometown in this life. Yes. If the same conditions were to be recruited to go to Taiwan to cultivate wasteland, I am afraid that tens of thousands of people would have been recruited long ago!"

Compared with Taiwan Island, a region close to the East Asian mainland, the cost of immigrating to North America is obviously much higher.Although the advance fleet has established a firm foothold in North America and established a colonial area, and the development momentum seems to be good, it is still very difficult to attract domestic people to settle there, even if the official promises excellent immigration conditions, and as early as several Recruitment began in various parts of the country a month ago, but the number of people recruited in the end was still not ideal.

If the cost of ocean transportation is added, the cost of recruiting a single immigrant to North America is at least ten times that of Taiwan Island and five times that of the South China Sea area, which is a considerable expense.However, the establishment of the North American colonial zone was only three years old, and this expenditure alone must have already taken up a considerable part of its financial budget.

(End of this chapter)