1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 292 Trade Negotiations ([-])

Among the Ming maritime merchants in this period, the only one who had the official permission to do foreign trade business with the Dutch was Xu Xinsu.From 1626 when Xu Xinsu accepted Zhao'an and obtained his official status, all the business between the Dutch East India Company and Daming was monopolized by Xu Xinsu, and one can imagine the great benefits.If the Dutch didn't go through Xu Xinsu's channel, they would hardly even be able to buy a single piece of silk from Daming. This kind of monopoly operation naturally attracted the jealousy of others—for example, the "Eighteen Zhi" in Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Pirate group.

Just the raw silk transported from the coast of Fujian to Taiwan and traded with the Dutch every year, the total amount is 10 taels. It would be strange if such a large transaction did not attract competition. "Eighteen Zhi" desperately attacked Xu Xinsu's territory, and the ultimate goal was to monopolize the foreign trade rights of Fujian's coastal ports.In the original history, after Zheng Zhilong defeated Xu Xinsu and took control of the coast of Fujian, he also chose the same path as his predecessors, quickly accepted the Ming Dynasty's recruitment, and continued to monopolize foreign maritime trade after obtaining official status.

Relying on this kind of monopoly operation, Xu Xinsu has accumulated a huge net worth. It may be an exaggeration to say that he is incomparably rich, but the wealth he owns is definitely far more than the current time-traveling group—maybe worse than being dragged down by the civil war The North Vietnamese regime in North Vietnam was a little richer.A few 10 taels of cash were shipped over without any prior notice. This style is really a local tyrant that the people of time travel have never seen before.

The three people on Haihan's side quickly exchanged glances, and Tao Donglai said: "Mr. Dong, I think the Guangzhou Office has already explained to you in detail about the arms trade. The arms we export are not You can buy whatever you want with silver.”

Dong Yanyun nodded and said: "I also understood it before I came down. For local transactions, the cash needs to be exchanged for bank notes issued by your bank. There is no problem with this. I will send someone to handle this matter later."

"You misunderstood, it's not this problem." Tao Donglai shook his head and said, "There are many restrictions on our export of weapons. To whom to sell and how much to sell, these can only be decided after group discussions. Mr. Dong, let me say this Well, the weapons you bought through 'Furuifeng' are basically the amount we can sell to you."

This Dong Yanyun's mind was not slow, and he immediately said: "So you sold these weapons to us on purpose?"

"That's right." Tao Donglai nodded and did not deny the other party's guess: "We know that the 'Eighteen Zhi' has suppressed you very badly before this. If it wasn't for the fact that the Central Left Institute still had a fortress to defend, I am afraid that Zhangzhou Waihai would have already It was taken over by 'Eighteen Zhi'. We don't want the coastal areas of Fujian to be controlled by pirate gangs like 'Eighteen Zhi', so we chose to sell weapons to give you some assistance."

"Since you are willing to provide assistance, why do you want to restrict the sale of weapons? What I bring are all cash of good quality. The three of you can send people to the ship to check the authenticity!" Dong Yanyun was about to be killed by Tao Dong He was confused by the gossip here and there, and after thinking about it, he could only think that the problem might be the money: "If you think the price is negotiable, you can also put forward conditions and negotiate slowly."

From Dong Yanyun's point of view, such excuses as out of stock and limited quantity should all be tricks by the Haihan people trying to raise the price of weapons, and he had already made preparations before coming here.If the Haihan people want to blackmail them, it's no big deal. The money spent on buying weapons can be quickly earned back after defeating the "Eighteen Zhi".However, judging from the previous contact with the Guangzhou Office, it seems that it is not so easy to let the Haihan people open this hole. After that, it seems that there is no way to solve the problem.

Sure enough, Tao Donglai immediately shook his head and said, "It's not a matter of price... The main reason is that our production capacity is limited and we cannot produce a large number of weapons for sale in a short period of time. Even if you can produce gold and silver mountains, Mr. Dong, we will not Method."

It is naturally impossible for Tao Donglai to tell the truth that the executive committee is trying to control the war situation in Fujian through the output of weapons, and Xu Xinsu, who is far away in Fujian, would never have thought that in a small seaport thousands of miles away, there would be a group of people who had already He was secretly calculating himself and "Eighteen Zhi".The truth cannot be told, so the best excuse is insufficient production capacity.

But having said that, what Tao Donglai said was not entirely an excuse.After the North Vietnam expedition ended, Zheng's response was faster than expected. Before the statistics of the Battle of Zhengjiang were finished, the envoys from Thang Long Mansion had already rushed to the front line, expressing to Qian Tiandun that they would increase the purchase of weapons.Thang Long Mansion plans to train and arm a firearms force of at least 5000 people within this year, and then deploy to the Hengshan River Defense Line.

This means that the Crossing Group has received a large order of arms at the very beginning of the year, and must export at least [-] matchlock guns and more than [-] artillery pieces to North Vietnam within the year to meet the needs of North Vietnam for forming an army.And this may involve a series of other exchange conditions, such as political conditions, military aid cooperation, the number of immigrants, etc., the North Vietnamese side is very likely to send a senior military general to visit Victory Port in person for this big order, and Senior executives of Haihan discussed the details of the transaction face to face.

Of course, the North Vietnamese side did not forget to propose a ship procurement plan to Haihan, but the Shengli Port Shipyard is currently in an overloaded state, and the orders from the Ministry of Shipping and the Military and Police Department have been scheduled until next year, and it is impossible to have the energy to accept them. Commercial orders out.The only thing that the Ministry of Shipping can sell is probably some second-hand ships on hand that are gradually declining in condition.But in any case, if the North Vietnamese regime wants to complete this procurement package this year, it must be prepared to bleed.

Dong Yanyun didn't expect Tao Donglai to speak so harshly. He frowned and said, "I've come all the way from here, and I sincerely come to the door to ask for a purchase. You won't be able to even out a single shot, right?"

"It's not that there is no stock at all, it's just that we have an exclusive agency agreement with 'Furuifeng', so it's not convenient to sell directly to you." Tao Donglai continued to adopt roundabout tactics.

Dong Yanyun said with an unhappy expression on his face: "With the reputation of my master in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, 'Fu Ruifeng' is not qualified to intervene in the transaction between you and me, Mr. Tao can rest assured!"

Dong Yanyun has the confidence to despise "Fu Ruifeng" so arrogantly.In the past, Fujian could only trade with "Furuifeng", because there was no first-hand source of goods, and there was no way to do so due to many restrictions.But now that the manufacturer has been found, how can the Fujian side allow "Fu Ruifeng" to intervene?Even if the price is the same, Xu Xinsu is naturally more willing to let the manufacturer earn the money, rather than a middleman like "Fu Ruifeng" who purely relies on handovers to make profits.

Compared with the famous merchant Xu Xinsu, the strength of "Fu Ruifeng" is indeed not enough. In terms of the number of seagoing ships under his command, the difference between the two sides is more than ten times, although Xu Xinsu is not as good as the "Eighteen Eighteen" who is the number one in East Asia. Zhi", but there are still two or three hundred ships, large and small.In terms of armed forces, "Fu Ruifeng" already has a militia group equipped with arquebus guns under his command, but Xu Xinsu has thousands of former pirate members with Ming army signs, and has begun to gradually equip Haihan production firearms.In terms of influence in the business world, the gap is even more obvious. Xu Xinsu not only monopolizes all transactions between Daming and the Netherlands, but also controls part of the trade between Daming and Japan. In fact, there are many places that belong to Xu Xinsu's control.

Now Dong Yanyun has made it clear that Xu Xinsu has decided to kick "Fu Ruifeng" aside in terms of arms trade and directly make a deal with Haihan.If "Fu Ruifeng" refuses to accept, then you can also try to challenge Xu Xinsu's authority - of course, this possibility is very small, after all, one side is a pure businessman, while the other side is a powerful man with triple identities of maritime merchant, pirate, and navy. Armed forces, as long as Li Jifeng didn't take the wrong medicine, he wouldn't bother Xu Xinsu for this kind of thing.

"This...Since Mr. Dong has said this, he is very sincere." Tao Donglai felt that the circle was almost complete, and it was time to get down to business.

"Then it's worth selling? Well, we can buy as much as you have!" Dong Yanyun can't wait to finalize the weapon sale right away.

"It's fine to buy weapons, but we also have some conditions. Of course, as I said before, it has no direct relationship with the price of weapons." Tao Donglai began to pave the way for the conditions he would offer next.

"Boss Tao just said it's okay, as long as we can do what we can, we can do our best." Dong Yanyun hurriedly urged.In his opinion, Tao Donglai was just trying to cover up, saying that it had nothing to do with money, but if it really had nothing to do with money, why have you been in circles for so long?
"I think Mr. Dong probably also knows that there is a shortage of seagoing ships here... No, no, no, you don't have to stare at me, we don't want you to continue to provide seagoing ships." Tao Donglai paused and said: "We hope You can recruit a group of shipwrights in Fujian, and as for the specific treatment, you can discuss it with Mr. Ning later."

As the coastal province with the most developed maritime trade in the area ruled by the Ming Dynasty in this era, the number of seagoing ships owned by the Fujian area is still quite large, and the corresponding shipbuilding industry is relatively developed, and the population base of this industry is still considerable.According to some information that the executive committee has learned through various channels before this, there are more than [-] people engaged in shipbuilding or related industries in Fujian Province. There are few shipwrights with real skills.

The local shipbuilding industry on Qiongzhou Island is far less developed than that on the mainland. Only Danzhou and Qiongzhou Fucheng in the north have shipyards. Last year, He Xi went to Qiongzhou Fucheng to order two seagoing ships.However, since the Ministry of Shipping opened its own shipyard, the Executive Committee has used various channels to recruit people from other shipbuilding institutions. Eighty percent of the skilled shipbuilders in the north have moved to Victory Port.Like Yazhou, which is close at hand, Luo Shengdong even searched all the shipwrights who repaired the warships in the water village and sent them to Shengli Port. Just go to the Victory Port Shipyard to schedule.

The shipwrights on the island were almost done digging, so the executive committee naturally turned their attention to the mainland.In addition to the continuous recruitment by the Guangzhou Office, Fujian, which has a very developed shipbuilding industry, has naturally entered the executive committee's field of vision.Zhang Tiangui, the number one technician among the naturalized people of the shipyard, was recruited after fleeing the war from Fujian to Guangzhou. The Ministry of Shipping was very satisfied with the technical level of the Fujian shipbuilders.

Dong Yanyun didn't quite understand Tao Donglai's purpose, so he asked hesitantly, "Then how many shipwrights do you want to recruit?"

"The more the better, we are recruiting for a long time, and there is no limit on the number of people." Ning Qi took over the conversation, and he has always been in charge of arranging human resources matters: "Anyone who is willing to come to Shengli Port to work, we will give A certain amount of settling expenses. We will take care of the whole family’s relocation, young children’s education, and old support. As long as they have real skills, we can guarantee that their income is at least double that of those in mainland China.”

In fact, the income of the shipwrights who moved to Shengli Port is far higher than what Ning Qi described. A shipwright like Zhang Tiangui was only paid two or three taels of silver a month when he was in Fujian. I can get a little red envelope from the shipowner, and basically have no other income other than that.But in the Shengli Port Shipyard, the basic income of his third-level labor has already exceeded the ten-yuan circulation certificate. He will be paid overtime for overtime work on rest days, holiday benefits during the New Year and holidays, and he can also get shipping for technically reasonable suggestions The actual income from the ministry’s bonus is at least five times that of the mainland, and the family’s life is also properly arranged by the civil affairs department. Zhang Tiangui has long given up the idea of ​​moving back to the mainland, and is ready to die in Shengli Port Do it all your life.

"Then, will the number of shipwrights recruited affect the number of weapons you sell?" After going around in circles for so long before starting to raise conditions, Dong Yanyun certainly understands that the other party is not aimless, and the matter of recruiting shipwrights is probably unwarranted. It's as simple as that.

Sure enough, Ning Qi nodded and said: "In principle, we still focus on quality rather than quantity. It mainly depends on the true technical level of the shipbuilders we recruit. We don't lack labor force now, what we need is craftsmen who understand technology, so the shipbuilders we recruit We will go through a simple skill test first to confirm their level, and then we will give you corresponding feedback - for example, for every ten qualified shipwrights recommended, we can exchange for ten [-]-style muskets, or A discount of [-]% off for the purchase of a Type [-] cannon."

Dong Yanyun's eyebrows twitched, and he couldn't help being a little shocked by the conditions offered by the Haihan people.According to the price at which the Fujian side purchased arms from "Furuifeng" before, the Haihan people paid at least 20 taels of silver per person for the shipbuilder, and this was just a solicitation fee. Calculated separately.This poaching is not insignificant. Dong Yanyun estimated that it would be difficult for his boss to resist such a temptation.

I only heard Ning Qi continue to add: "... In order to ensure that you can do your best in the recruitment process, we will require that the number of shipwrights you recruit reach a certain level before each weapon purchase, and we will follow up with you. The number of weapons sold is directly linked."

"That is to say, if you didn't recruit enough shipwrights for you, you wouldn't sell us weapons?" Dong Yanyun said in astonishment.

"Probably that's what it means, but it's not complete. As I said just now, as many qualified shipwrights as you can recruit, you can exchange for the same number of matchlock guns. At least it won't waste your time. But if you want to purchase in bulk, Then you have to do better." Ning Qi explained concisely: "Especially if you want to buy the artillery produced here, you must accumulate a certain number of shipwrights before you can trade!"

"This... this is really embarrassing!" Dong Yanyun shook his head and said: "It is possible to recruit a hundred or eighty shipwrights, it just takes some time. But if the number is large, how do we proceed? Besides, the amount of ammunition we want to buy is not small, if we need a large number of shipwrights in exchange every time, this business cannot be done!"

Haihan had already anticipated the possible problems. As soon as Dong Yanyun finished speaking, Tao Donglai took over and said, "So apart from the plan to recruit shipwrights, we have also prepared other compromises for you. way of dealing with it.”

"Oh? I would like to hear the details!" Dong Yanyun hurriedly asked.

It was not difficult to recruit shipwrights. There were at least a thousand or two thousand shipwrights in the area under Xu Xinsu's control. It would not be a bad idea to allocate some to the Haihan people to exchange for weapons.But Dong Yanyun is not a fool, and naturally he will not easily expose his own actual situation, no matter what, he has to complain and bargain first.He didn't expect the Haihan people to be so talkative, as soon as they complained, there would be another turning point.

Of course, this is not actually a turning point, and it is just a strategy prepared by the executive committee in advance.Shipwrights are certainly important, but gaining other benefits and convenience through Fujian Xu Xinsu's influence is also the goal pursued by the Executive Committee.Ning Qi raised the conditions of the shipbuilder so high just now, in fact, it was to make the other party take the initiative to counter the price, and then use this to propose other exchange conditions.Although Dong Yanyun can be regarded as a veteran sea merchant with a lot of experience, but when he encounters the executive committee and these skilled talking guns, he may not escape the end of being fooled in the end.

"As far as we know, the production of raw silk in Fujian has always been good. Raw silk also accounts for a considerable proportion of the transactions between Daguan Xu and the Dutch." Tao Donglai began to slowly talk about the second point he wanted to raise. quid pro quo.

Before Tao Donglai finished speaking, Dong Yanyun shook his head repeatedly and said, "Mr. Tao, I'm afraid the trade of raw silk will be lost. The raw silk produced in Fujian is ordered a year or more than half a year in advance. , if you want to buy in large quantities, it's already too late."

(End of this chapter)