1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2656
After understanding how Haihan controlled North Korea, Zhu Zian could also imagine how Haihan used non-military means to gradually encroach on the southern coastal areas of Daming.

Of course, Ming's national power is far from comparable to that of North Korea, and its influence on the people is even more deeply rooted.It took Haihan nearly 30 years to only control the coastal areas, and its influence in the inland areas is far from reaching the level of North Korea's submissiveness.

But what he sees and hears now will still make Zhu Zian feel a little sour in his heart. Thinking back when North Korea was dominated by Daming, although his attitude was humble enough, he would never give these industries that maintain the lifeline of the country with both hands. , all to Daming to manage.

However, Haihan’s treatment in North Korea is completely different. Not only do they completely control these industries, but they also have to make decisions about the distribution of production capacity and the whereabouts of products.For example, the steel produced in the Datong River Basin mainly flows to Haihan. North Korea even needs to negotiate to increase its production capacity in order to obtain more quotas for domestic use.

Zhu Zian couldn't help but think deeply, what is the root cause of this difference?
"It is the advanced production technology mastered by our country."

After the meeting, Shi Chengwu responded to Zhu Zian's question: "The reason why the North Koreans are willing to obey our arrangement is because the industries we have built here have far exceeded their original level. Even if they can only get some of them Part of it, but the benefits gained from it are greater than before."

Shi Chengwu then gave Zhu Zi'an a simple explanation using iron and steel smelting as an example.Although only [-]% of the production capacity of the steel plant led by Haihan in the Taedong River Basin is used to supply North Korea's domestic needs, this [-]% production capacity has far exceeded the previous national steel production capacity of North Korea, and there is a trend of increasing year by year.

"North Korea owns half of the property rights of the steel plant, with a stable annual supply of steel, tens of thousands of industrial workers who have mastered the basic smelting technology, a large number of cheap iron daily necessities and steel weapons and equipment, you would think that they choose to follow the Is it a big loss for us to cooperate?"

Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "The king of North Korea went to our country to inspect related industries before he became the throne. He knew very well what benefits he could get from cooperating with our country, and he also knew that these benefits can only be provided by our country. All North Korea and our country The cooperative industries are actually in a similar situation, and we provide enough benefits in exchange for their cooperation, which is why you want to know."

Zhu Zian was at a loss for words for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

According to Shi Chengwu, as the suzerain of North Korea, Hai Han did much better than Daming.

Haihan not only provided North Korea with strong military protection in terms of national security, but also helped North Korea upgrade many key industries, all of which Ming could not do.North Korea may appear to the outside world as a pitiful image of being oppressed by Hai Han, but in fact this country has also benefited a lot from cooperation, at least much better than when it was dominated by Daming.

Shi Chengwu went on to say: "During the past 20 years of cooperation between North Korea and my country, we have obtained far more than what we paid, and our national strength has far surpassed that of the past 200 years. We have trained many capable officials for North Korea and formed and trained a new type of army. If this When the Manchus start a war again, I believe North Korea can deal with it calmly. Since obedience to us can have so many benefits, how do you think the North Koreans will choose?"

Zhu Zi'an said: "Master Shi's words are really enlightening to me, I have been educated!"

Shi Chengwu said: "Words are not proven, seeing is believing. Whether what I just said is true or not, you can observe and verify it yourself in the next few days. The negotiation between my country and North Korea is essentially a matter of benefit distribution. As long as all parties are taken care of interests, the matter is simple.”

The next day, the Haihan Mission and North Korean officials started talks in Gyeongbokgung Palace.The content of the talks was mainly on the topics raised by the Haihan side, which were basically related to the cooperation projects between the two countries.

As Shi Chengwu said, the focus of the discussions between the two parties is still the method and proportion of benefit distribution.Haihan needs all kinds of raw materials, cheap labor and unrestricted markets provided by North Korea, and imports Haihan's financial and trade system standards into North Korea during the cooperation process.North Korea needs Haihan's help in industrial management, production technology, personnel training, etc., and it needs to obtain more production capacity from some cooperation projects for domestic demand.

The eldest son Li Bai, who was sent by King Li Yi to supervise the battle, seldom directly participated in the discussions. This may be because he had limited knowledge of related industries, so he was warned by the king in advance and behaved very cautiously.Park Hongye, the political leader who presided over the talks, became the focus of the meeting, and almost every topic was checked by him.

The talks between the two sides are based on cooperation, so there will not be any tense scenes.However, the Haihan Mission is mainly composed of young officials, and most of them are engaged in such diplomatic negotiations for the first time, so they will inevitably behave a little bluntly.

Fortunately, Fu Li, an old Jianghu, was present, who would guide the atmosphere at the right time, and control the rhythm of the negotiation in his own hands with ease.

The talks on the day were mainly based on the exchange of views between the two parties, and no substantive agreements were reached immediately. Only the cooperation intentions of several projects were basically agreed.However, neither of the negotiating parties has plans for a quick solution, so they will not be dissatisfied with the negotiation process.

Of course, Zhu Zian also participated in such a diplomatic activity for the first time. After talking with Shi Chengwu last night, he also focused more on examining the relationship between the negotiating parties.

As Shi Chengwu said, the essence of the two parties arranging this meeting is to discuss the distribution of interests, and they have clearly expressed their respective interest demands. It is more like a bargain between businessmen than a diplomatic negotiation.

To Zhu Zian's surprise, the Haihan side did not use their status as suzerain to force the other party to accept their conditions, at least not verbally.Although the attitude of the North Koreans was very humble, they did not flinch at the negotiating table and still insisted on their demands.He originally thought that the negotiation process would end quickly in a one-sided situation, but that was clearly not the case.

During the breaks in the negotiations, Zhu Zian mentioned his impressions to Shi Chengwu, and expressed his puzzlement at the persistence shown by the North Koreans.Because in his opinion, North Korea will eventually obey Haihan's arrangement, and such persistence is futile.

Shi Chengwu said with a smile: "If you make concessions too quickly, you won't be able to win benefits. They must show persistence in order to gain something. This is true whether it is for the country or for themselves."

(End of this chapter)