1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 293 Trade Negotiations ([-])

In the Ming Dynasty, Fujian was one of the important producing areas of silk fabrics in my country. As early as 1439, the imperial court set up a weaving and dyeing bureau in Quanzhou to produce tributes for the royal family.Later, during the reign of Jingtai, Bi Heng, the magistrate of Fuzhou, also set up a local weaving and dyeing bureau. According to the records of "Fuzhou Fuzhou", at that time, Fuzhou paid 425 feet of silk and satin to the royal family every year, and the raw silk used was 1328 catties, all of which were apportioned by the counties under the rule. pay.In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the silk weaving industry in the south of the Yangtze River gradually emerged, and its technical level and output greatly surpassed that of Fujian, which directly led to the decline of Fujian's official silk weaving industry.

However, the decline of the government-run silk weaving industry did not mean that the local silk market shrank. On the contrary, in the early Ming Dynasty, Fujian people mostly used ramie cloth to make clothes, and their consumption of silk products was not large.But in the late Ming Dynasty, silk clothing became the standard clothing for young people.For example, it is recorded in "Taining County Chronicles": "Tai's production is only ramie cloth. Apart from ramie cloth, every strand of flock must be easy to get out. Nowadays, the children of the rich people must wear Luoqi, the color must be red and purple, long sleeves and big belts, and they are self-satisfied. .One person advocates it, and ten people follow it, which is extremely extravagant."

Similar records are also recorded in detail in "Quanzhou Fuzhi", especially in coastal areas, this change in clothing habits is very significant.Changes in consumption habits have prevented Fujian's silk market from shrinking due to the decline of the government-run silk weaving industry. On the contrary, it has expanded greatly among the people.Due to the limited production in Fujian, a large amount of raw silk and silk are imported from Jiangnan every year.In "Batong Min Zhi", "Xinghua Fu Zhi" and "An Hai Zhi", there are records of rich Fujian merchants purchasing large quantities of silk fabrics from Jiangnan.Tang Zhen, a thinker in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, once wrote an article: "Wu silk clothes the world and gathers in Shuanglin. Wuyue and Minfan come to the island. They all come to the city. Silver arrives in May, and the accumulation is like rubble. The townships in southern Wu, every year there are The benefit of one million.” During this period, Fujian imported cotton and silk from the south of the Yangtze River every year, and the total amount can be called astronomical.

Of course, these raw silk and silk fabrics are not completely absorbed by the local market, and exports are also one of their important destinations.Through the three major foreign trade ports of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou, Fujian's silk products were once exported to Japan and European markets in large quantities.Due to the Japanese pirate problem, the Ming Dynasty banned trade with Japan for a long time, and Japanese merchants even had to go to the Southeast Asian market to buy Chinese silk.Shrewd Portuguese merchants purchased silk fabrics in Guangzhou and shipped them to Japan via Macao for sale. The annual volume ranged from [-] to [-] tons.

In the last 16 years of the 20th century, half of the silver produced in Japan was exported abroad, most of which entered the pockets of the Portuguese.According to the recorded historical materials during the 1599 years from 1637 to 38, Portuguese merchants transported more than [-] million taels of silver from Nagasaki. Silk and other goods.

The situation in Europe is different. Western countries introduced sericulture from China as early as the Middle Ages. Spain, Italy and other countries in southern Europe had strong silk production capacity at this time.However, because the price of raw silk in Europe was very expensive, it was far less cost-effective to organize raw silk production in the European market than to import raw silk from distant China. Therefore, the main import target of European merchants was raw silk as raw material, not finished silk fabrics.

Regarding this situation, He Qiaoyuan, a historian at the end of the Ming Dynasty, once commented on the Spaniards and the Dutch: "People from the two barbarians like to eat Chinese satin and miscellaneous silk. The soil does not have silkworms, and they can only use Chinese silk. When the lake silk comes to the other side, it can also weave fine satin, chiseled like flowers and scales, and it is beautiful to wear. Therefore, a hundred catties of Chinese lake silk is worth a hundred taels of silver, and the price can be two or three hundred taels."

And the profits the Dutch get from buying raw silk from Fujian are also quite considerable. Currently, Xu Xinsu, the largest foreign trade supplier of raw silk in Fujian, supplies raw silk to the Dutch at about 140 taels of silver per load. The Dutch are still flocking to collect an advance deposit.But after the raw silk is shipped to Japan, it will at least double the profit.The price of raw silk in Manila is 100 taels higher per load than in Taiwan.In order to obtain more raw silk, the Spaniards even took the risk of crossing the Pacific Ocean every year, transporting silver directly from the South American colonies to East Asia to purchase goods.

However, during this period, the local production of raw silk in Fujian was actually not that large, and the quality of silk in Fujian was not as good as in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The main raw materials for the silk weaving industry came from Huzhou, Zhejiang, while the production centers were mainly concentrated in the three foreign trade ports of Fuzhou, Quanzhou, and Zhangzhou. .Fuzhou is famous for its four-layer fabric "Changji brocade", Quanzhou is famous for its rich variety of silk fabrics, and Zhangzhou is characterized by its good imitation. The most famous Su silk and Lu silk in China can be imitated in Zhangzhou, even imported silk fabrics. The velvet that flowed in the opposite direction quickly succeeded in "cottage" in Zhangzhou, which can be called the "Huaqiang North" of the silk weaving industry.

At this time, although the status of Fujian's private silk weaving industry was not as high as that of Wuyue in the south of the Yangtze River, it was still one of the important production areas in China. Xu Guangqi quoted the words of Guo Zizhang, an important official of the two dynasties, in "Nongzheng Quanshu": "The machine in the southeast, the three Wu, the Fujian , Yue is the best partner, and takes it from the lake cocoon.” The Crossing Group has been developing the sericulture industry and silk trade since the end of last year. Although Wuyue is good, it is a little far away, while Fujian is relatively much closer.Of course, the most important point is that there is Xu Xinsu, a super local snake in Fujian, that can be used.

When the Executive Committee decided to export weapons to support Xu Xinsu's resistance to the "Eighteen Zhis" more than half a year ago, it also had some intentions to use Xu Xinsu to gain convenience in Fujian in the future.With the advancement of the construction process in the Sanya area, the Executive Committee finally began to have the spare energy to pay attention to some projects that were not suitable for development at the beginning of the time-traveling—such as sericulture and related industries that needed silkworm eggs adapted to the current space-time environment for development. silk weaving industry.

Although Fujian's silkworm eggs and silk are not as good as those in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Fujian's silkworm eggs have better adaptability to Hainan's tropical monsoon climate and are more practical for the Crossing Group.People from the Ministry of Agriculture have expressed their opinion to the executive committee that as long as one or two years of breeding and reproduction can be carried out, local silkworms suitable for Hainan's climate should be able to be cultivated - of course, this is almost an ideal progress , the actual progress depends not only on the progress of Fujian, but also on the development status of the Travel Group on Hainan Island, because most of the areas suitable for silkworm farming are in the central and northern regions, which are not yet part of the Travel Group. sphere of influence.

Of course, at the very beginning, we still have to solve the problem of whether there is any, and the promotion of breeding can be done slowly. Anyway, the current problem of the Transit Group is not that there is no export channel, but that various products are seriously insufficient in production capacity. Need to count on the production of silk fabrics to revive the economy.

Dong Yanyun's answer was not particularly exaggerated. The time Xu Xinsu shipped raw silk to the Dutch every year was probably before the Haihan militia went to Vietnam. Now a month has passed, and Xu Xinsu sells all the raw silk on hand. It is almost the same, and it is definitely hopeless to buy bulk goods from Fujian at this time.

Dong Yanyun didn't want these three people to feel that they were looking for excuses to evade, and continued: "If you really intend to purchase silk fabrics, I can try to purchase them from Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas on your behalf, but it will take a long time, and the price is estimated to be relatively high. high……"

"Mr. Dong, we don't plan to buy raw silk and silk fabrics for the time being. What we want are local silkworm eggs in Fujian." Tao Donglai simply stated his intention.

"Silkworm eggs?" Dong Yanyun said after a moment of astonishment: "Are you planning to... plant mulberry and silkworms in Yazhou?"

"Where we grow sericulture is not the point, the point is whether you can provide us with the help we need." Tao Donglai is not interested in discussing technical details with Dong Yanyun.

"This... is not difficult, so what are the specific requirements?" Dong Yanyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Sending silkworm eggs is much easier than sending shipbuilders, and he doesn't have to worry about affecting his own business.

As for whether the Haihan people really farmed sericulture on Qiongzhou Island, the production of silk would have an impact on Fujian's silk industry. The Han people can really make things happen, but in the future, Fujian will be able to have one more stable source of goods, so why not do it?

Tao Donglai took out a piece of paper and handed it to Dong Yanyun: "This is our request for silkworm eggs."

Dong Yanyun looked at it, and there were several silkworm eggs specifically designated on it, and they also explained which growth stage of silkworm eggs and the required quantity were required.In addition, mulberry trees from all over the country should also be sent one by one to prepare for selection.In addition, the Haihan people also proposed to hire some experienced silkworm farmers from the sericulture area in Fujian, some weavers familiar with silk fabric production technology, loom samples, etc.Although the entries are a bit cumbersome, the requirements are not too much. After all, they are all related to the sericulture industry.

After reading it, Dong Yanyun nodded slightly and said: "It's not difficult for you to ask for these items. I can agree to it now. After I go back, I will prepare these items and send them to Victory Port as soon as possible."

"That would be the best. After receiving the silkworm eggs from you, we will give you a certain amount of arms procurement shares as appropriate." Tao Donglai is also quite satisfied with Dong Yanyun's answer, but the matter is not here Even if it's over: "There is one more thing, we have a relatively large demand, and I hope you can try to provide us with a source of supply."

"Mr. Tao, please tell me!" Dong Yanyun has now figured out the way of the Haihan people. If he wants to buy their arms, he must first agree to a series of exchange conditions, otherwise he will have nothing to do with cash. None can be bought.

"We heard that Xu Daguan has a lot of trade in Japan, so we hope to import copper ore from Japan through Xu Daguan's channel." Tao Donglai paused, and then specially emphasized: "You can exchange copper for us. ammunition!"

Dong Yanyun's eyes lit up immediately when he heard the words: "Really? Mr. Tao must not be entertained!"

"As long as it's copper ingots with good purity, you can take as many as you want!" Tao Donglai immediately gave him another reassurance.

In the industrialization construction of the Traveling Group, there are quite a few places that need to use copper as a raw material, but the copper reserves brought by Traveling are very limited, and it is definitely difficult to meet the needs of industrialization.The only copper mine on Hainan Island is in Shilu. The local development plan is still on paper due to the huge demand, and it will not be officially implemented for a while.Japan was the largest copper exporter in East Asia during this period.

As a mineral-poor island country, Japan is lucky enough to have relatively rich copper resources. Large and small copper deposits, including Ashio Copper Mine and Besshi Copper Mine, are evenly distributed in areas from Kanto to Shikoku and Kyushu. The geological belt with a length of about 800 kilometers and a width of about tens of kilometers is rich in reserves.During the Ming Dynasty, Japan exported a large amount of brass to Ming Dynasty. By the 17s, Japan's copper output had ranked first in the world.Therefore, when the executive committee was thinking about the copper mine, it immediately thought of Japan as the source of goods.

However, the lack of mineral resources will still be a disadvantage after all. Although Japan produces gold, silver and copper, it lacks tin mines for casting bronze, so they even lack the ability to cast copper coins by themselves. The hardness of pure copper is too soft, and preservation is a big problem. .As a result, Japan had to export brass to Daming every year, and then exchange it for copper coins minted by Daming for domestic circulation and use.Until Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan at the end of the 16th century, the main copper coins in circulation in Japan turned out to be "Yongle Tongbao".

Anyone with a little economic sense can imagine how profitable the minting business is.However, the Transit Group intends to import a large amount of copper, not to sell it back to Japan after minting coins, but to really use it for its own industrial development.

The most urgent urging is the military police department and the maritime department. The bronze guns to be developed by the military industry department and the corrosion-resistant "naval brass" required by the shipyard require a large amount of copper as raw materials for production.Tin, another metal in the alloy used to make these items, has been found by the Guangzhou Office in mainland China as a supplier from the "Haifeng" firm in Huizhou Prefecture. At present, more than ten tons of tin ore arrive from Huizhou every month. Guangzhou, then transship to Victory Port.And these tin mines have already begun to come in handy - the production department has trial-produced a batch of lead-tin alloys last month, which are used to make movable type for printing. As long as the printing ink trial production of the chemical department is successful, they can start printing by themselves Some promotional materials and literacy readers.

In addition, the power coverage area dominated by the Tiandu Industrial Zone also requires a large amount of copper to erect transmission lines.At present, base No. [-] and the port area still rely mainly on photovoltaics for electricity use, which is obviously not in line with the Executive Committee's goal of building Shengli Port into a "livable town".As for the use of copper in machinery, metallurgy, and light industry, it is even more extensive. To put it seriously, if the supply of copper cannot be properly resolved, it will be enough to slow down the industrialization process of the Crossing Group for several years.

Taking the copper price of Daming at this time as a comparison, although the import from Japan is relatively far away, even if the transportation costs are included, it is still about one-third lower than that of Daming.If you buy in bulk, the cost can be amortized a lot, which is a very cost-effective deal for a large copper consumer like the Transit Group.

However, Dong Yanyun still has some doubts about this: "My master did have a lot of trade with Japan in the early years, but in recent years the Japanese are more willing to do business with red-haired people, and we may need to wait for further information after returning to Fujian. .”

Dong Yanyun's words were cloudy, but the three people present understood the meaning behind the words.At the beginning, Li Dan, a great merchant, controlled most of Japan's trade with Ming Dynasty. After Li Dan's death, Xu Xinsu and Zheng Zhilong inherited his legacy in mainland China and Taiwan respectively, and the Japanese resources were also divided between the two.Now that Xu Xinsu and Zheng Zhilong are fighting hard, as an outsider, the Japanese side naturally has the meaning of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. At this juncture, if Xu Xinsu finds the Japanese for a large deal, the attitude of the other party will be more unpredictable.

Ning Qi answered at this time: "Mr. Dong, in order to show our sincerity, I will give you a fortune. Have you ever heard of Hamada Yahei?"

Dong Yanyun shook his head and said: "In the future, I have only been active in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. I don't know much about Japan. I would like to hear more about it."

Ning Qi briefly told him about Hamada.Hamada Yahei was a Japanese maritime merchant. When he went to Taiwan to buy raw silk in 1626, he had a conflict with the Dutch East India Company. When Hamada returned to Japan the next year, he met with the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and tried to persuade Jiang The household shogunate rebelled.In the spring of 1628, Hamada once again led hundreds of Japanese to Taiwan. This time, the Dutch directly came to Taiwan. They copied a large amount of weapons and gunpowder from the ship, and detained all the people and cargo. Hamada himself was also imprisoned.

Ning Qi stopped at this point, Dong Yanyun looked at him inexplicably and said, "Mr. Ning, why didn't you continue?"

Ning Qi thought to himself that the next thing hadn't happened yet, so how could I casually reveal the secret.At that moment Ning Qi coughed dryly and said: "After Mr. Dong goes back, he can remind Senior Officials to pay attention to the changes in Taiwan. If everything goes well, within this year, no matter if they are Japanese or red-haired people, they will take the initiative to ask Senior Officials to visit them." Up."

Dong Yanyun wondered: "Why did Mr. Ning say that?"

Ning Qi smiled mysteriously: "This is a secret, don't let it out!"

Ning Qi pretended to be a godsend, but in fact, this matter was worthless.After Hamada was imprisoned in Taiwan for several days, he led his men to take armed action, broke into the residence of Peter, the chief executive of the Netherlands in Taiwan, and took his son as a hostage, and then returned to Japan together.Immediately after Hamada returned to Japan, Peter's son was imprisoned and the Dutch business house in Hirado, Japan was closed.After that, the trade between Japan and the Netherlands fell into a state of interruption. It was not until 1629 that the headquarters of the East India Company, who felt the seriousness of the situation, ordered Peter to be dismissed and sentenced to two years in prison.This is not over yet, until the Dutch escorted Peter to Japan in 1632 and handed him over to the shogunate for imprisonment, the trade between the two sides was resumed.

(End of this chapter)