Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

There are many differences between modern plants and those in ancient times. For example, the corn that seems to be everywhere today did not actually look like this at the beginning. The corn cob was as small as a dogtail grass ear. It was only after generations of improvements that it became what it is today.

With sweet potatoes, food is guaranteed. At the very least, Jiang Han can rest assured about the food supply. All he needs to do next is to persuade farmers to plant this and wait for the harvest.

With sweet potatoes, the foundation for population explosion was laid. During the Qing Dynasty, more than half of the people in Central Plains died. It was the popularization of sweet potatoes across the country that led to population growth and the subsequent Qianlong prosperity.

As for how to persuade them, after the first batch of sweet potatoes is harvested, he will distribute sweet potato vines to farmers. He does not ask for more, and each household can plant one acre of land. If they make a loss, Jiang Han will compensate them with the harvest of one acre of land.

But for now, we still have to plant the first batch of seeds, there is no rush.

This batch of sweet potatoes were shipped all the way from the sea, and they are all spring potatoes. Generally speaking, the growing period of spring potatoes is between 160-200 days. This batch of sweet potato seedlings still need careful care.

"Find a group of old farmers to work with the students of the school to cultivate sweet potatoes. Tell the school to study how to grow this crop as a subject and find ways to increase the yield."

This is the most stable food product during the Little Ice Age in the next few decades, and it cannot be overemphasized.

Wang Dang also understood the importance of this item, and nodded: "I will do it immediately."

"Don't worry, wait for me for a moment"

Jiang Han lowered his head and started calling people in the voice channel: "I have a batch of important items that need to be escorted. Hurry up and get a team. It's critical!"

"Received, will be there in ten minutes"

M4 responded in voice and turned to look at the humanoids who were preparing to go out: "Stop for a moment, this is a temporary emergency escort mission, get ready to go."

"Got it, where is it?"

"pier"

After notifying the humanoids, Jiang Han turned around and said, "Send a large number of troops to the experimental fields to guard them day and night. These seedlings represent the hope of our China, so we must pay attention to them!"

"Don't worry, as long as the Miao is alive, the people will live. If the Miao is gone, the people will die!"

Wang Dang nodded solemnly.

"That's not necessary..." Jiang Han couldn't hold it back. I can find another sweet potato, but I would be at a loss without such a useful assistant like you.

"As for you, Jin Lao San, you have made a great contribution this time. I have a special reward for you."

"No, no, no, I just did what you told me to do. I don't deserve a reward."

Jin Laosan quickly declined, but the raised corners of his mouth still betrayed his thoughts.

"Okay, don't refuse. This reward is specially prepared for you. You will definitely be able to use it."

"Then I can only respectfully obey your orders."

Jin Laosan bowed quickly, looking forward to what the master would reward him.

"Actually, I've already put the prize here, look back."

Jin Laosan turned around and saw people coming and going at the dock. He looked back with some confusion.

Jiang Han smiled and said, "Look behind you."

Looking further back, the huge treasure ship was anchored in the harbor, so majestic that the waves of the Yangtze River could not shake it in the slightest.

Jin Laosan was a little bit unbelievable, his fingers were trembling. He thought of a possibility, but he was not sure. He did not dare to think that the other party would really give him that thing as a reward.

"Don't look at it, it's for you. If you are the horse that needs to run, you must feed it with enough grass. With a boat of this size, how much can you earn in one trip? You have made such a great contribution, so this treasure ship should be given to you."

"Thank you very much, sir!" Jin Laosan was about to kneel down, but Jiang Han stopped him.

"Oh, no need. Just do your business well. There will be many places where you can be used in the future."

"Just follow the command, no second thoughts!"

This is the real God of Wealth. How much silver does a treasure ship cost? To be honest, even if Jin Lao San sold his treasure ship, he couldn't afford such a ship! If the Lord says to give it to me, then give it to me! Although I won't get a promotion, as a businessman, I don't have any expectations. This kind of tangible reward is real!

"Oh, by the way, I have one more thing to report to you, sir."

In his ecstasy, Jin Laosan did not forget his business.

"Hmm? Do you have any surprises that I don't know about?"

"I was doing business with foreigners on the southern coast when I mentioned your idea of ​​doing a large-scale transaction. A caravan heard about it and wanted to meet you."

"Oh? Have you seen the flag of their caravan?"

There are only a few foreigners who can operate in East Asia, and the ships they sail are basically double-track sailing ships. The only way to distinguish them is by the flags flying on the ships.

"I have seen it. It is a grey flag. I cannot recognize it, so I sent someone to bring it here. Sir, you can take a look at it first. If it is ok, I will introduce it to you."

"You are very cautious. Ok, give it to me."

Jin Lao San waved his hand, and his men quickly brought a gray flag from the boat. Jiang Han recognized it as soon as he saw it: "This is really a piece of cake after searching for it for a long time, but it is now easily found."

Volume 262: Chapter Chapter : Transaction

This gray flag is not a solid color all over, but light gray on top, light blue in the middle, and a striped flag at the bottom with the English letters AOC in the middle, with OC being passed through a huge V.

Some people may already know who this flag belongs to, but some may not know it yet. This is the flag of the famous Dutch East India Company at that time.

The letters above represent Dutch. The original Dutch text is Vereenig de Oostindische Compagnie, and the Chinese translation is: United East India Company.

The A at the top is the abbreviation of Amsterdam. Since its establishment in 1603, the Dutch-led East India Company has been frantically expanding its foreign trade, extending the scope of its business to every corner of Southeast Asia. Of course, the object they most want to do business with is still the Ming Dynasty.

It's a pity that the maritime ban of the Ming Dynasty was set by Emperor Taizu. Even though the Dutch were anxious, they could only run into a solid wall. These people wanted to use cannons to open the door to free trade of the Ming Dynasty, but in the end they were still beaten black and blue. They could only engage in smuggling through Zheng Zhilong or conduct local trade under the supervision of the Ming court.

By chance, they heard that a rebel leader from Yangzhou was seeking an opportunity to trade with them. This was a godsend! A rebel leader would definitely struggle to survive under the oppression of the government army. What a good trade opportunity! All the goods in their hands could be sold to the other party, and they could also buy precious goods from the Ming Dynasty at a low price through the other party, and then sell them at a high price back home. This was undoubtedly a sure-win business!

As a result, the local East India Company quickly sent people to contact the merchant who leaked the news and prepared to have a meeting with the rebel leader.

Some people say that it is very risky to do this. My friend, everyone knows how much the profit of goods in China is. A profit of only 300% is enough to make people do anything for it. What's more, the profit of Chinese goods is 1000%!

Although there are many risks in negotiating a business deal with a rebel leader, if you die, you die. If you succeed, you will become rich, today! Would you rather watch giant crocodiles baring their teeth in the forests of Southeast Asia, or take a chance on success?

At that time, the West was full of adventurous spirit. Everyone had the mentality of "If I win, I will be a young model in the club, and if I lose, I will go to the club to be a young model." The word "rush" was emphasized. If you don't take a risk, how can you turn a bicycle into a motorcycle? If you don't create value today, it will become surplus value tomorrow.

At this moment, Van Leyden, who was in the cabin, was feeling anxious. The Dutch are very homesick, or rather, very rough. When naming people, they often directly use the names of their local places. For example, Van Leyden was named because he came from the Leiden area. Another example is Van Gogh. Van is his first name and GOAH is his last name, which is the name of a small village in the Netherlands.

It has a Japanese feel like Takemura or Matsushita.

Van Leighton is very nervous now. What he is nervous about is not whether he might die, but whether he might meet the leader of the resistance army. If the other party does not agree to the deal and kills him without saying a word, then this trip of his will be completely in vain.

But he was lucky, and soon he got the answer.

"Come on, the master wants to see you"

A sailor came to the cabin to greet him, which surprised him greatly. As long as they could meet, there would be hope for success! He hurriedly called his translator, Li Yongxian, to meet the rebel leader.

Van Leighton's Chinese cannot be said to be suitable for normal communication. It can only be said that it has a hint of Tangshan suburbs. If he were to discuss such an important business in Chinese with such a strong accent, it would be inevitable that the other party would feel offended and the negotiation would break down. So he specially found a translator for himself, mainly to ensure smooth communication between the two parties. He could also pretend not to understand Chinese to explore the other party's true thoughts. When the other party saw that he didn't understand what I said, he would naturally let down his guard and say a lot of his true thoughts.

After getting off the boat, Van Leighton recognized Jiang Han as the leader of the group at a glance. It was because of his 12-meter tall stature, white skin, and the guard AA- beside him that he was too eye-catching and highly recognizable.

"I guess this must be the respected Lord Jiang. Van Leighton pays his highest respects to you."

He placed one hand on his chest and bowed to Jiang Han. The translator beside him translated his words verbatim.

"Hello, guest from afar, welcome to Yangzhou. I guess you are the person in charge of this trade negotiation with me?"

Jiang Han nodded and looked at the other person. Van Leyden's hair was red, which showed that his bloodline was relatively pure. At first glance, he was the old Rotterdam striped flag. There were many Dutch people with this kind of red hair. These people had relatively stronger hormone secretions and better physical fitness. If they were women, they would also be much more powerful in that aspect, and they were the kind of people who could tire a cow to death.

"You are really smart. I am the one who will come to you to conduct trade with the East India Company. Our East India Company..."

"stop"

Jiang Han stopped the other person from talking too much: "You came to our place, you should know that we don't like to talk directly about business here. There is a traditional culture called dinner. Let's go, it's getting late. I asked someone to arrange a restaurant. After we get there, we can talk slowly."

"This is natural, natural..."

Van Leighton had been in the Far East for so long that he naturally knew the customs of the people in this area. For example, when discussing things, social time was often not concentrated in the afternoon like them, or there was a special dance and cocktail party after dinner. Instead, during dinner, it was the main social time for the locals.

At the dinner table, they could negotiate many things, such as a business deal, a cooperation, a conspiracy, or a plan. Having worked here for many years, Van Leighton naturally knew a thing or two about this custom and was naturally willing to follow suit.

The two men agreed to meet in a private room of a restaurant, and while waiting for the dishes to be served, they began to discuss the matters of this trade.

"Dear leader, I heard that you wanted to have commercial cooperation with our East India Company. To show your sincerity, I heard that you and your army are fighting against the Ming army. I will donate a batch of muskets and artillery to you in my personal name to show our sincerity in cooperation."

On the way here, Van Leighton thought a lot. What else could a rebel leader want to trade with the outside world? It was nothing more than arms, artillery, and guns. These things were not very precious, so they could be sold at will! These were worth only a few dollars. On the contrary, the other party's silk, tea, and various handicrafts were all treasures. If they were brought back to Europe and resold, they would make ten times the profit! He could even provide a batch of free aid. If he could establish this favor, wouldn't the door to free trade be full of gold? On the one hand, it was a show of goodwill, and on the other hand, it was a demonstration. Wouldn't it be wonderful?

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Van Leighton for his kindness. Don't be too formal. Just call me Mr. Jiang."

Jiang Han raised his glass and didn't refuse. Of course, it's a good thing if you don't refuse it. He should thank us.

"Then I would like to thank Mr. Jiang for his kindness."

Van Leighton showed a look of delight. Accepting this thing meant that half of the task was accomplished.

"In fact, although I occupy a place, I feel that the materials in the city are always a bit monotonous. Many local cloths, silks, porcelains, and some industrial products lack an external sales channel. I heard that the East India Company is quite popular in Southeast Asia, so I thought of you and wanted to discuss a business with you."

Jiang Han also came straight to the point and stated his intentions directly, which made Van Leighton very happy: "Oh, sir, you are so wise! It is really a wise decision for you to find us. Our East India Company's business is spread all over Southeast Asia and has branches all over Europe. You have found the right person to find us! We can definitely take all your goods, or our merchants can come here to do business directly?"

"Hahaha, of course I believe in the strength of your company, but since it's business, there has to be give and take. It's good to have merchants from your country come to my event, but you know that this place is very xenophobic and very resistant to outsiders. Free trade may be difficult. How about you set up a business center here and we can conduct bulk trade together?"

Jiang Han lightly rejected the other party's request for free trade. Are you kidding me? Let your people come to my place to do business casually? Who knows what you will sell here? Are you dreaming?

"Ah... I do have concerns in this regard. It's a pity, but your proposal sounds somewhat novel. Can you tell me more about it?"

“I’ve been out to sea before…”

Jiang Han began to act. He raised his head 45 degrees with a nostalgic look on his face: "Sailing on the sea is not easy. There is a lack of fresh water and fresh vegetables. There are frequent storms at sea. If you are not careful, you may lose your life. It is really not easy to do business on the sea..."

This sentence made Van Leighton's heart skip a beat. Oh no, it seems like this guy really knows what he's doing.

Jiang Han's words made Van Leighton no longer regard him as an ordinary old-fashioned local rebel. The other party had obviously participated in maritime trade and understood its characteristics. It would be difficult to fool him.

"You and your sailors are risking their lives to trade at sea, so we naturally cannot let you lose money, right? Therefore, every time we trade, we will make a list of the goods we need. In this way, the company can make a profit after each transaction, so as to avoid the local people not buying the goods. I heard that in Guangdong, your company encountered many obstacles at the beginning."

Jiang Han's words seemed to be considerate of the other party, but they actually defeated an unspoken rule in front of Van Leighton: all imported goods of the East India Company need to be traded under my control, and the supply rights will also be in my own hands.

I will tell you what kind of business I want to do with you and what goods I want. If you bring the goods, I guarantee that you can make money. If you bring other messy things, I'm sorry, I will not recognize them and will not accept them, so your trip will be in vain.

However, Jiang Han's words hit the mark exactly on the minds of people like Van Leighton who have been engaged in ocean-going trade for many years. They have invested a lot of money in the Far East, but all along, they have been spending Spanish gold coins and silver to unilaterally purchase goods from the Ming Dynasty. However, their own products have encountered difficulties in selling in the Ming Dynasty. The goods that they think are very easy to sell are not bought by the people of the Ming Dynasty at all, which also makes their local big businessmen very distressed.

"What you said makes a lot of sense, but dear sir, if you only need some simple and ordinary goods during your trip, it will also be a loss for us. An ocean-going cruise ship costs a lot..."

Van Leighton also said secretly, "That being said, if you ask me for a shipload of grass, can we ship it to you? You have to make us profit."

"Don't worry, sir. I have already listed the first batch of goods we will trade and the prices I will offer. You can take a look at it first. I believe that both of us will benefit greatly from this transaction."

Jiang Han waved his hand, and a cargo list booklet was delivered to Van Leighton's hands. He opened the booklet and scanned it line by line: "Rice, rye, spices, sugar, cotton...." These are some common crop commodities "Steel, coal, oil...?" What is this?

Van Leighton frowned and looked at Jiang Han. Jiang Han smiled and explained: "This is a kind of black grease flowing on the ground. It burns very quickly. I need to use it for military purposes."

Van Leighton thought about it. It seemed that there was indeed such a black oil substance. Could it be used in the military? I must report it to the royal family. These are all mineral commodities. Well, it is also reasonable.

"Pigs, cattle, sheep and other large livestock....alpacas....guinea pigs...?"

He was puzzled. What was this? Was there something special about our Dutch pigs? He had been in the Far East for a long time and didn't know what new things were in his hometown. Was this a new animal?

"It has been some time since Columbus discovered the New World. Many explorers and countries have been exploring and discovering on that land. Among them, there are these two kinds of livestock that are commonly raised by local people. So I also put it on the list, and want to see if they can be bred here as well."

Jiang Han’s words shocked Van Leighton!

Although the fact that Columbus discovered the New World was not news, in the Far East, no one knew about it! Moreover, how did the other party know about the progress of Europe's exploration in the New World? Even an old Dutchman like him didn't know this news!

Moreover, there was not even a list of weapons in the cargo list in front of him! This was completely different from what he had imagined before!

The man in front of him with a faint smile suddenly became mysterious in Van Leighton's eyes. It seemed that since he sat in this place, something was running wildly in a direction he didn't know.

but.....

Looking at the words "porcelain, silk, tea, handicrafts" and "new coal stove" on the export goods, it is really too tempting... Wait, what is a new coal stove?

Van Leighton felt like a babbling child who kept asking questions in front of adults, but fortunately he didn't know what was embarrassing, so he asked again sincerely.

"Oh, this, then I will introduce it to you in detail. This is also a very good business..."

Jiang Han's smile turned sinister: Humph, Europeans, come and be my first wave of leeks!

Today's first chapter, followed by qqun 伊榴8 二衣 7 妻衣 六

Volume 263: Chapter Chapter : Bullying an honest person

At the end of the negotiation, both the host and the guests were naturally happy.

The honeycomb coal stove business is obviously a new way to make money. After learning about all the characteristics of this coal stove, Van Leighton keenly realized this opportunity. At this moment, he had long put away the contempt he had when he first arrived. This rebel leader is obviously not comparable to those stupid local armed forces. His vision, thinking, and genius make him amazed.

The coal stove business that the other party described to him was, to be precise, two businesses.

Today, the whole world is facing a cold winter on a large scale. The impact of the drop in temperature is not only borne by the Ming Dynasty. This is a catastrophe for the whole world.

Many people may have only seen records of the existence of the Ming Dynasty during the Little Ice Age at the end of the Ming Dynasty, so they think that only the Ming Dynasty was the most severely affected. In fact, the Little Ice Age was an unbearable disaster for all life in the world. During the duration of the Little Ice Age, large-scale extinction of organisms occurred during this period, from top predators to very small insects, no one was spared.