1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2698
If it is said that the cross-border trade activities of Haihan merchants bypassing the Tsushima domain were just non-governmental activities, then Tao Hongfang’s opinion on behalf of Haihan officials at this time is to clearly inform the Japanese side of future trade exchanges around the Korean Strait. , Haihan will also get a share of it.

Regardless of whether Haihan's real intention is to support North Korea or seek more benefits in cross-border trade, once he gets involved, it will pose a threat to Ma Fan's trade monopoly in this region.To put it more seriously, this is likely to shake the foundation of Tsushima Fan's livelihood.

Zong Xiongtai has been dealing with Haihan people in Busan for a long time, and he has a relatively clear understanding of the power of Haihan commercial capital.He knew that no matter in terms of purchase and sales channels, sea transportation capacity, organizational management, or trade scale, it would be difficult for the Tsushima Fan to compete with the powerful Haihan merchants. Its own advantage is only the special trade status obtained by relying on geographical advantages.

Haihan merchants established the Busan-Nagasaki trade route early on, and later opened up routes to Osaka and other places via the Shimonoseki Strait.Since the Haihan merchants started operating these two routes, the direct economic losses caused to Tsushima Fan have been as high as several 10 taels of silver every year.

But in the face of the continuous erosion of Haihan's business, Tsushima Fan seems to have no effective means of resistance other than swallowing his anger.The use of force is absolutely unavoidable. The Haihan Armed Fleet stationed in Sasebo Bay is no joke. Hirado Port, which was once prosperous for a while, has been reduced to an ordinary fishing port with few people because of offending the Haihan people.Although the Tsushima Clan has certain economic strength, its military power is far inferior to that of the Hirado Clan in its heyday, and it does not yet have the confidence to challenge Haihan head-on.

At this time, Tao Hongfang dared to make such a request. Of course, his confidence came from the huge armed fleet moored in Busan Port.Zong Xiongtai stood in front of the bedroom window after waking up every day, and he could see this oppressive fleet, even the Haihan flag on the mast.

Faced with such pressure, how could Zongxiongtai easily say "no" to the Haihan people.

"First of all, I don't think it's time to renegotiate the trade agreement between my country and North Korea. If the king of your country has such a plan, he should submit a letter of credence to our country through official channels, put forward detailed requirements, and get our country After agreeing, we will negotiate and arrange negotiations."

The coping strategy Zongxiongtai can think of at present is to divide North Korea and Haihan as much as possible first, so as not to let the interests of the two be tied together.Compared to Haihan, at least North Korea's follower will be easier to deal with.

Regarding the request made by Wen Zhihong, Zongxiong kicked the ball back with a few words too lightly - you first follow the procedure correctly, and then come to talk to me.Of course, it must be done according to Zongxiongtai. The time required for the high-level exchanges between the two countries is calculated in months. Tsushima Fan also has a buffer time to slowly find a way to deal with it.

But it is difficult to use the same method to deal with the Haihan people.Because Zong Yutai has already learned that this Haihan fleet will visit Japan next, and it is said that Edo Castle, where the shogunate is located, will also be one of the destinations.If there is no accident, the negotiation of the trade relationship between the two countries will inevitably become the main topic of this visit to Japan. If the Tsushima Domain does not take the initiative, it may be difficult to intervene in the negotiations between the shogunate and Haihan at that time.

"As for the country of Haihan..." Zong Xiongtai glanced at his negotiating opponents, and couldn't help feeling a little bit moved by the youth of these Haihan officials: "I think the bilateral trade agreement between our two countries should prevail instead of starting a new one and formulating a new one." A redundant tripartite agreement."

Haihan and the Japanese shogunate signed the "Sea-Japan Friendship and Trade Treaty" a few years ago, confirming that Japan has opened many major ports to Haihan and allowed Haihan merchants to engage in trade activities in these areas. One of the most important agreements to date.

However, the content of this agreement basically does not involve a third party. It is a relatively pure bilateral trade agreement, so there is no clear definition of the trading activities of Haihan merchants between North Korea and Japan.Zong Xiongtai brought up this agreement to show his position. He was only willing to negotiate terms with Haihan alone, but he could not bring North Korea into the fun.

Wen Zhihong couldn't help being anxious when he heard this statement. If North Korea was kicked aside, his hard work would be in vain. Before Haihan could speak, he took the lead in responding: "Master of the Zongguan, you may I have overlooked one point. Busan will soon establish the Haihan Exclusive Economic Zone. If there is no formal tripartite trade agreement to regulate the business operations of each company, then your clan, and even your country, may have all trade activities in Busan in the future. affected."

Zong Xiongtai frowned and said: "Master Wen, your statement is a bit unfriendly, and it will not help solve the problems between us."

Now that Wen Zhihong is backed by the Haihan Mission, he speaks naturally stiffly, and said with a cold snort: "Although what I say is not pleasant, it is for everyone's consideration. If you don't set good rules, if there are trade disputes in the future, the head of the sect hall will not Come trouble me with this officer!"

Wen Zhihong had negotiated with Zong Xiongtai several times before, but he didn't get any good looks. Although he was not angry, he had nothing to do with the other party. But this time, with the help of Haihan, Wen Zhihong is not afraid to speak out. , At this time, Zongxiong Tai was beaten up with a gun and a stick, and he felt a great sense of relief in his heart.

He even wished that this would anger Soxiongta and make him refuse to continue the negotiation.Haihan has interests in this tripartite meeting. If Tsushima Fan refuses to negotiate, he will definitely offend Haihan. Once Haihan thinks that the problem cannot be resolved through negotiation, he should choose more direct and effective means to deal with Tsushima. Phan.

For the Busan government, if there is a better solution than reaching a tripartite agreement, it is of course to completely kick out the Tsushima Fan. In the future, without this middleman who gets in the way, the income of the Busan government can probably be easily doubled several times. Isn't it flattering.

Seeing the tension between the two parties, Tao Hongfang finally spoke again: "You two, the purpose of our meeting today is to resolve differences, not intensify them. If we fail to reach an agreement, I think everyone's interests will be affected to varying degrees. This should be a situation that you two don’t want to see, right? I think it’s better to put forward our own interests first, and then try to seek common ground while reserving differences, and formulate a plan acceptable to all parties. What do you think?”

(End of this chapter)