Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 66 "Foreign Merchants"

February 1627, 6, Guangzhou.

"...The Jiannu army arrived at Jinzhou on May 1627, , and surrounded it from all sides. [The text then abruptly shifts topics.] ...

"...After fourteen days of continuous attack, the Jiannu army divided its forces to attack Ningyuan again. After failing to capture Ningyuan, they sent more troops to attack Jinzhou. However, due to the sweltering heat, they were unable to capture it and suffered heavy casualties. They then withdrew, destroying the two cities of Dalinghe and Xiaolinghe."

"…Governor Yuan Chonghuan, eunuch Liu Yingkun, and the deputy envoy all led their troops from Su to the city walls, stationed inside the moat, and fired artillery at the enemy. Man Gui also led troops led by You Shilu and Zu Dashou to the rescue. A fierce battle ensued outside the city walls, with both sides suffering casualties. Man Gui was struck by several arrows."

"...In this battle, the Jiannu suffered countless casualties, but Jinzhou and Ningyuan were ultimately unbreakable. This can be considered a great victory for Ningjin."

"How magnificent is our Great Ming army! How alas, our Great Ming official army!"

Gong Yucheng, the owner of "Fu Shun Tang", placed the copied imperial report heavily on the table, twirled his beard, and shouted loudly, causing the diners in the restaurant to laugh.

"Manager Gong is so concerned about the country and the people that it really makes us ashamed!" Song Mingxuan, the owner of Songji Trading Company, said with a smile.

"Shopkeeper Song, please forgive me for laughing." Gong Yucheng shook his head and said, "It's not that I'm worried about the country and the people, but I'm just feeling depressed! My great Ming Dynasty, with its billions of people, is completely helpless against the mere Jiannu, allowing them to grow stronger and frequently harass our Liaodong territory. It's just a pity!"

"Yes, the Jiannu rebels have been rebelling since the 1618th year of the Wanli reign (). Now they are so powerful that they are difficult to control and have become a hindrance to our Ming Dynasty. What is even more disheartening is that the court has been doing nothing for more than a decade. Instead, it has suffered continuous losses of soldiers and generals, wasted national funds, and almost threatened to shake the security of our Ming Dynasty's northern border. It is really a cause for sigh." Cotton cloth merchant Qiu Yuanbo also sighed, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all.

"Okay, okay, let's have a few drinks here and discuss business. Why should we sigh and lament over such a frustrating thing happening in the court?" Song Mingxuan smiled and picked up the wine pot and filled their glasses again.

"Brother Song is right. Whether it's the Jiannu or the Liaodong military, the court officials are in charge of it. It's not for us merchants to easily discuss it. ... Let's drink, drink!"

"Brother Gong, Brother Qiu, have you heard that a group of wealthy overseas merchants have arrived in Hong Kong with huge sums of money? In recent days, they have been making large purchases in the market, attracting the attention of the entire Guangzhou business community."

"How could I not know about these wealthy merchants who are making such lavish purchases?" Gong Yucheng said with a smile, "It's said that these people are from Southeast Asia and run a large plantation. In addition to purchasing supplies in Guangzhou, they are also constantly recruiting farmers and craftsmen to Southeast Asia to cultivate land, attracting countless people to gather around them."

"...To be honest, brothers, I met these people two days ago through 'Lishunhang' and made a deal worth eight thousand taels of silver." Qiu Yuanbo smiled. "These people are really... a wonderful group. The sheer volume and variety of items they purchased is truly dazzling. However, they are not too picky about the price. For such a large quantity of goods, they paid 90% of the market price. Moreover, the silver they paid was pure banbing (i.e., silver coins). The exchange of money and goods was very neat and tidy, and it was extremely refreshing!"

"Oh, really?" Hearing this, Song Mingxuan immediately moved closer and said expectantly, "Brother Qiu, since you have dealt with these people before, could you introduce Yu Lishunxing to us?"

"That's right, that's right." Gong Yucheng also looked at him eagerly.

It is said that the two of them jointly invited Manager Qiu to have a drink in such an elegant courtyard. They must have heard the news and wanted to use this person's connections to establish a relationship with Li Shunhang, or even directly find those "Nanyang wealthy merchants" at the dock to sell some goods and make some money.

Although a large number of foreign merchants come to Guangzhou every year, they are all very shrewd. When purchasing goods, they are extremely picky and are very particular about prices.

Especially those Portuguese, who relied on their control over trade routes to Japan, Luzon, India and other places to severely suppress the prices of goods provided by our Ming merchants.

In order to avoid this group of blood-sucking Portuguese, some Guangzhou merchants directly joined forces with merchants from Yuegang, loaded a ship with goods and personally sailed to Luzon, and their profits increased several times compared to before.

Of course, Japan's shipping routes are not easy to touch. In addition to the monopoly of the Portuguese, Zheng Yi Guan (also known as Zheng Zhilong) is an even more difficult character to deal with. He almost monopolized Japan's import and export trade business in Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang and other regions.

If you want to do business with Japan, you can only transfer the goods to Zheng Yi Guan or take over the goods from him to make some money.

As for the Nanyang region, it is even more difficult.

The Dutch were gaining power there, controlling almost all of the trade in many of the native kingdoms. They also established trading posts along many of the coastal areas of Southeast Asia, purchasing goods from the natives at low prices and reselling them to Ming Dynasty buyers at high prices, reaping huge profits.

Moreover, they also tried to occupy Penghu and built fortresses there in an attempt to get involved in the overseas trade of Fujian.

However, in the fourth year of the Tianqi reign (1624), the newly appointed Fujian Governor Nan Juyi directly sent troops to surround them, forcing them to dismantle their fortress and retreat to southern Taiwan.

Therefore, these foreign merchants are still very difficult to deal with. None of them is a sucker and can let these Guangdong merchants take advantage of them.

What's more, there are a lot of maritime brokers between them and the foreign merchants, who are squeezing both sides and making business extremely difficult.

Now, a "Nanyang wealthy businessman" has finally arrived. Not only does he purchase a large amount of materials, but he also doesn't haggle with you and pays you generously. Why don't you quickly approach him and make a fortune from him!
It is said that Qiu Yuanbo, a big cotton cloth merchant, sold cotton cloth worth nearly 8,000 taels of silver to a "Nanyang wealthy merchant" through Lishunhang a few days ago. The profit he obtained was conservatively estimated to be nearly 1,000 taels, which was equivalent to his interest income for most of half a year.

How can this not make people jealous!

"Brother Qiu, may I ask, besides cotton cloth, iron, sugar, and spices, what other materials do they need?"

After getting Qiu Yuanbo's consent, Gong and Song asked anxiously.

"Lead, tin, medicinal herbs, porcelain, woolen fabrics, various hand tools, agricultural implements, as well as various craftsmen and... young women."

"Why do they only need these things?" Song Mingxuan frowned upon hearing this. "Why don't they buy some valuable high-end goods like raw silk, silk, gemstones, gold jewelry, and expensive furniture?"

"They also want all kinds of craftsmen and young women. What does this mean?" Gong Yucheng couldn't hide his disappointment. "Could it be that these Nanyang merchants are planning to immigrate and expand their territory, develop and build in the wild lands they occupy, and then establish their own regime?"

"How can I know what they're going to do?" Qiu Yuanbo said with a wry smile, "Although these things aren't very valuable, the quantity they need is huge. I'm sure there will be at least 30,000 or 40,000 taels of silver."

"What are the backgrounds and origins of these people who claim to be Nanyang merchants?"

"They look like people from the Ming Dynasty and speak Chinese. However, their hairstyles and clothing are very different from our Chinese clothing, and their accents seem to be from the north. Oh, and there are quite a few barbarians among them, almost similar to the Portuguese."

"As for their background, I can't quite fathom it. Perhaps they were Han Chinese who migrated to Southeast Asia hundreds or even hundreds of years ago, seizing some land from the local states, hoping to develop and strengthen their livelihoods and establish themselves. ... Who can really tell?"

"Well, no matter how small a mosquito is, it's still a piece of meat." Song Mingxuan smiled, "In a few days, I'll still need Brother Qiu to help introduce us to some good people to see if we can make some money."

"Why a few days later?" Qiu Yuanbo said, "Tomorrow afternoon between 13:15 and :, they've commissioned Lishunhang to hold an auction, planning to sell three or four hundred high-quality furs."

"Tsk!" Gong Yucheng couldn't help but sneer. "What kind of high-quality fur can be produced in Nanyang? You know, the best furs with excellent color come from the north, especially Liaodong and Korea. Any fur can be sold for five or six taels of silver. If the quality is excellent, it can even be sold for thirty or forty taels of silver."

"Brother Gong, do you think the masters at Lishunhang don't know the value of furs?" Qiu Yuanbo shook his head and said, "If a shrewd man like Shopkeeper Deng didn't know the value of furs, how could he be willing to help those wealthy Nanyang merchants organize an auction?"

"Oh? You mean, they actually have a batch of high-quality furs? Where did they get them?"

"Do you think they'll tell others about their supply channels? ...Oh, these people do have some connections, and they're a bit mysterious."

(End of this chapter)