1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3212
Arms trading is no stranger to the Portuguese, and it was once their largest business in the Far East.

The Portuguese’s trade activities in the East did not go smoothly at the beginning. During the Zhengde and Jiajing years of the Ming Dynasty, there were constant frictions with the Ming Dynasty, and there were many armed conflicts on the coast of Guangdong.

It wasn't until the Wanli and Tianqi years that the Portuguese discovered that sending arms to Ming could win the other party's favor, and the relationship between the two sides began to ease.During the reign of Chongzhen, in addition to supplying weapons to Daming, the Portuguese also sent officers, artillerymen, and cannon-casting technicians to help Ming form a Western-style firearms unit.

For a long period of time, countries such as Ming Dynasty, Annan, and Japan were the main customers of Portugal in the arms business in the East.

But since Haihan's rise in the South China Sea, he quickly entered the arms market, and Portugal was quickly squeezed out of this industry.

There is no other reason. Whether it is production capacity or weapon performance, it is difficult for Portugal to compete with Haihan, which has mastered more advanced military technology.

Even in terms of sales channels, the Portuguese who entered this market first were quickly left behind by Haihan because of their language and cultural disadvantages.

However, for a long period of time, the arms sold by Haihan to the eastern countries were basically land weapons such as matchlock guns, flintlock guns, and city defense guns. However, this will not threaten Portugal's security at sea for the time being. .

Buyers who can purchase armed warships from Haihan are only a few factions with special permission, such as the Fujian Xu family and Annan.However, the warships they could buy were not enough to challenge Portugal's armed fleet in the East.

However, if Haihan relaxes the restrictions and starts selling large warships like the Majestic class to some countries, it means that Portugal's influence in the East may have to be reduced again.

Seeing the Annan delegation boarding the VIA proudly, Simao and Thomas looked very gloomy.

In the end, Thomas was the first to break the silence: "What do you think the Haihan people are doing for this purpose?"

Simao replied: "Perhaps it is because they plan to send a large-scale force northward to attack Ming Dynasty, so they need a reliable armed force to maintain maritime order in the South China Sea. They may think that the Annan Fleet is capable of this task."

Thomas said: "But if this matter can be entrusted to us, it is obviously more appropriate."

Simao said: "This just proves my previous point. Haihan's attitude towards us is slowly changing."

Portugal's maritime armed forces in the South China Sea are second only to Haihan, much better than Annan, and there are supply ports for fleets to dock in many places in the South China Sea, which is also a condition that Annan does not have.

However, Haihan's behavior clearly shows a lack of trust in Portugal, and even intends to support Annan to replace Portugal's position in the region.

The two fell silent again.It was fine if the arms business was taken away by Haihan. After all, his skills were not as good as others, but Haihan even wanted to arm the vassal state to replace Portugal, which made them a little unacceptable.

If there is still no response to this, the next step is whether a country like Annan can ride on his head?

After a while, Thomas said, "I think it's time to talk to the Haihan people about the international situation."

Simao also affirmed this: "It is time to talk to them. If this continues, maybe the differences cannot be resolved through talks."

The depression of the Portuguese obviously will not be the keynote of this arms exhibition. The tens of thousands of people pouring into the exhibition hall are the protagonists today.

Many people didn't really realize until now that Da Ming's continuous defeat in recent years is not just the so-called bad luck, but the gap in strength between Da Ming and Hai Han is really too big.

Compared with the ships displayed by the Haihan Navy, the so-called warships deployed by the Ming army on the Qiantang River in the past are like small sampans.

Most of the older locals still remember the scene of a fire outside Hangzhou more than 20 years ago that burned Haihan's property, which resulted in the Haihan fleet approaching the city of Hangzhou and blocking the Qiantang River.Compared with that time, today's Haihan fleet is obviously stronger, and even a "giant ship" like the Zhoushan has appeared.

Of course, the biggest difference is that the Haihan army at that time was an "enemy army" to the locals, but at this moment, this powerful army has become their own family, and the entire Hangzhou area is under its protection.

The soldiers who served as reception commentators in the exhibition hall were all specially selected, and all of them were from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and many of them were from Hangzhou.

When the public hears these soldiers explaining these weapons and equipment and recruitment rules in their local dialects, they will naturally feel very cordial.

The publicity effect of the armament exhibition was immediate. The young and strong people who consulted with the army soon formed a long queue, and some scholars even began to ask whether there was a suitable position in the army.

At this time, the exhibition area in the North American region was already crowded with people. The [-] leaflets printed in advance had been distributed before noon. Wang Anbang had to go on stage in person and deal with inquiries from several people at the same time.

Only now did Wang Anbang understand why his father had to force him to take general knowledge classes for several days before departure, covering North American geography, products, humanities and so on.

If it weren't for the preparatory work in advance, I would really be overwhelmed by all kinds of weird questions at this time.

Farmers will come to ask what crops are suitable for growing in the local area, what is the climate like, and whether the grain can be grown twice a year; carpenters will ask what tree species are in the local area, which ones are suitable for building houses, and which ones can only be used as firewood; businessmen will ask What are the special local products, what are the material needs, and what is the cost of transoceanic transportation.

All walks of life have different concerns, which are much more complicated than simple conscription.

Although Wang Anbang's mouth was parched, his heart was full.He knows that the more people who come to consult, it means that there are many people who are interested in North America.

Many of them may just ask questions out of curiosity, or even just want to watch the Spanish prisoners of war at close range, but many of them should have really moved to North America.And all I have to do is try to get these people to put their ideas into action.

The conditions provided by the North American region to immigrants and recruits are the most generous among all overseas regions, and this has indeed attracted many people.On the first morning after the launch, nearly a hundred people signed on the spot, deciding to immigrate to North America.

Taking advantage of the lack of people at noon, Wang Anbang ordered people to go to the city to find craftsmen, and then hurriedly made a double-sided display board, and wrote his own recruitment content on it with big-character slogans to facilitate public inquiries.

(End of this chapter)