Chapter 222 Trip to Vietnam (5)
"My eldest son, the meeting place with the Haihan people is just ahead!"
After hearing these words, Zheng Zha came back from his thoughts and said to the steward standing next to him, "Is that strange white ship the ship of the Haihan people?"
The steward responded: "I have never seen that white boat when I traded with the Haihan people a few times before. However, according to the Seventh Young Master who was sent back by the Haihan people a few days ago, the Haihan people do have such a weird sailing ship. It can travel on the sea like flying.”
Zheng Zao nodded slightly. The seventh son the steward mentioned was Zheng Lin, who was sent back to Shenglong Mansion by the Haihan people. In terms of seniority, Zheng Zao and Zheng Lin were of the same generation. Zheng Lin ranked seventh among the Zheng family. , Zheng Zha is still slightly older.
When Zheng Lin was sent back to Thang Long Palace, he also brought back the refined salt samples presented by Hai Han and the trade requirements. For North Vietnam, which was experiencing a salt shortage, this news was undoubtedly a timely help. Soon the Zheng family sent a caravan to contact Haihan and successfully completed the first transaction of two thousand kilograms of refined salt. To others, the Haihan people may be just a group of ordinary foreign merchants who buy and sell salt just to make profits. However, Zheng Zha was very curious about the origins of these people and once asked Zheng Lin carefully about the Haihan people. situation.
According to Zheng Lin, these Haihan people only appeared on the coast of Vietnam in July. After they used a fleet to pack up a group of refugees in Qing, they went directly to a small bay in the northeast to build a port, and then used In a short time, thousands of local people were recruited to mine coal there. By the time he was sent away by the Haihan people, the port had become a large-scale town, and thousands of residents began to live a stable and orderly life there under the management of the Haihan people.
It only took more than a month to build a town and port in a deserted land. Zheng Zha believed that this was not something that ordinary maritime merchants could do. Moreover, judging from what Zheng Lin said, only clean coal was produced locally and no salt works were established. Therefore, the refined salt transported by the Haihan people for trade must have come from elsewhere—perhaps the destination where the locally produced clean coal was shipped.
Later, information came from Haihan that the other party wanted to sell arms. Now Zheng Zha couldn't sit still. If it was an ordinary weapon, that would be fine. Thang Long Mansion has a government-run weapons department that specializes in making weapons for the army, but the other party explained that they were selling muskets and artillery, and the weapons department couldn't make these things.
Although the current Vietnamese army has not begun to equip firearms, this does not mean that senior military officials in Vietnam do not know the power of firearms. In fact, starting from the 16th century, various relatively primitive matchlock guns have begun to flow into Vietnam through various channels. However, the sporadic inflows were not enough to equip the army, and they could only become the playthings collected by a few powerful people. Vietnamese craftsmen have never been able to master the manufacturing technology of muskets, which directly resulted in the inability to manufacture this weapon on a large scale in Vietnam. As for artillery, it is even rarer. The few cannons in Shenglong Mansion are still antiques left over from the Ming Dynasty. It is hard to say whether they can be used now.
After Zheng took control of the North Vietnamese government, he also planned to purchase firearms and equipment for the troops, but he always suffered from the lack of such access. Most of those Western missionaries who could provide firearms were active in the south. After the war between the north and the south, they disappeared in the north. And Ming Dynasty in the north is obviously even less likely to sell such advanced weapons to Thang Long Palace. The Emperor of Ming Dynasty may want Vietnam to be in chaos, and then send troops to clean up the mess and reoccupy this place. Although the Zheng family wanted to strengthen the army, they did not have the appropriate channels to achieve this goal.
But the appearance of the Haihan people seemed to give Zheng a glimmer of hope. Now Zheng Zha did not dare to regard the trade relationship with the Haihan people as just a way to make quick money, but hurriedly reported it to his father Zheng Zhe. As the actual holder of North Vietnam's military and political power, Zheng Zhi naturally knew what arms trading meant. Since a businessman was now coming to his door willing to sell muskets and artillery to North Vietnam, he had to at least check whether it was true or false. Out of caution, Zheng Zhi was not sure about letting outsiders take charge of this matter. Instead, he asked his eldest son Zheng Zha to make the trip himself to get in touch with the Haihan people and see what they meant.
The two ships sent by the Zheng family caravan this time were not sea-going ships, so when they sailed into the harbor and docked, the hulls of the ships appeared much smaller than the two lucky ships on the shore. Zheng Zha also noticed that the white sailboat had been cruising on the sea not far away, which made Zheng Zha, who had originally planned to observe the ship up close, a little disappointed.
After Zheng Zha disembarked from the ship and landed, he first noticed that the clothing of the people who greeted him were obviously different from those of Ming Dynasty. Almost all of them were waist-length short clothes, and their hair was short and did not even have a bun. This should be what Zheng Lin meant. I am talking about Haihan people.
The steward brought by Zheng Zha and Qian Tiandun had already met twice in past transactions, and they introduced the protagonists of both parties respectively. Tao Donglai also perked up when he heard the other party's identity. Although according to most people's opinions, Vietnam is just a foreign country, Zheng Zha can be regarded as a famous figure in history. This is the first time since time travel. Having come into contact with historical figures of this level, it can be said that the existence of the Time Travel Group has truly begun to affect the historical process of this time and space.
After the two parties exchanged a few words, Tao Donglai invited Zheng Zha and others to enter the tent set up on the shore to discuss. After sitting down, Tao Donglai said straight to the point: "As for your proposal to expand salt trading volume, after careful consideration, we believe that we can provide you with 200,000 kilograms of salt in the remaining three months. Wait until next year The trading volume can be further increased to 100,000 jins per month. This time our fleet has brought 30,000 jins of refined salt, which can be inspected and traded later.”
"Why is this? Could it be that you can't produce the quantity we require?" Zheng Zha asked puzzledly.
"It's not just about the output." Tao Donglai calmly denied Zheng Zha's speculation: "It's because we also need to provide a large amount of refined salt to Daming. I think Mr. Zheng can also understand that the quantity required by Daming Many times more than yours.”
Although the private salt sales network in Ming Dynasty has not yet been launched, this does not prevent Tao Dong from using tiger skin as a banner and blowing the bullshit first. Anyway, the other party is now unable to verify the authenticity of this statement.
Zheng Zha snorted and said: "I guess the salt you sold to Daming Dynasty was not the right way, right?"
Tao Donglai shook his head and said: "We only sell salt to regular merchants. As for where they transport it to sell it, how they sell it, and whether they will pay taxes to the government, we don't know and we won't ask. Whether it's a legitimate business or not, that's not the case. Our problem.”
Tao Donglai kept staring at Zheng Zha when he said this, which made Zheng Zha feel slightly uneasy. Of course he could understand that Tao Donglai's words were actually addressed to him, but he always felt that while the other party was clearing the relationship, there seemed to be some kind of overtone that he could not understand.
Tao Dong came to see the other party and had no reaction after hearing it. He knew that the other party was probably too young and lacked social experience to understand his cryptic statement. At that moment, he had to say more bluntly: "Our Haihan principle of selling goods is, Making money is the most important thing. Whether it is salt or something else, it is a sale to anyone. The only difference is whether it makes money or not. ”
Now Zheng Zha finally understood, nodded and said: "If we require you to only trade with us in Vietnam, what do you think?"
Regional agency exclusive rights are one of the important means for Chuan Chuan Group to expand its business activities. Because the supply of Haihan products exceeds demand, every businessman who has a trading relationship with Chuan Chuan Group hopes to have this kind of exclusive power to increase his competitive advantage in the region. At present, individuals or firms such as Luo Shengdong, An Fuxing, and Fulifeng have obtained the exclusive rights to act as agents in various regions, large or small, and almost every businessman who has obtained such power has made a lot of money. .
As long as the people sent by the Zheng family in North Vietnam were not fools, they should of course be able to imagine how useful this exclusive right would be. Although Zheng Zha was a little naive, he quickly realized this. Although the Zheng family is in charge of the military and political power in North Vietnam, Zheng Zha does not intend to use this power to threaten the Haihan people to achieve his own goals, such as allowing the Zheng family to monopolize the Haihan refined salt trade channels. Whether the Haihan people can sell their goods to multiple people is another matter. The key is that if they offend the Haihan people and the other party stops selling salt to North Vietnam, that will be a really troublesome thing, not to mention that there is still an arms business that needs to be discussed in detail. Seeing that the other party could still keep up with his thoughts, Tao Donglai relaxed a little and began to make conditions to the other party: "If you can agree to our two conditions, then we can provide you with smooth service in the future. Monopoly rights for goods in the areas north of Huahua and Quang Tri.”
"What conditions?" Zheng Zhu asked calmly. He is not a child, so he naturally knows that the other party cannot give this kind of benefit to him for no reason. Since it is a business deal, he must also have to pay some price. Moreover, the other party clearly proposed the concept of "the area north of Hue and Quang Tri", which shows that the other party is very clear about the current domestic situation, and may even send envoys to the south to discuss business with the Nguyen regime.
Thinking of this possibility, Zheng Zha's heart became a little tight - the goods that the Haihan people could sell to the Zheng family could also be sold to the Ruan family, not just refined salt, but perhaps also what they called muskets and artillery.
The Nguyen family in the south is said to have captured most of the Champa Kingdom, and the wealth of the Champa royal family and dignitaries has probably become the property of the Nguyen family. Faced with the military suppression of North Vietnam, the Ruan family may really Will invest heavily in purchasing weapons from outside. The North Vietnamese soldiers would not want to see a southern rebel army equipped with firearms on the battlefield. At least they should not use iron knives and guns to face projectiles that can penetrate armor.
"The conditions we proposed are very simple. First, we hope to set up business warehouses and ports on the Tushan Peninsula...well, where we are now, so that we can stack goods and station personnel in charge of trade. , it will be more convenient to trade with you in this place in the future." Tao Donglai put forward the first condition with a smile: "Of course, for this we may need to hire some workers from the local area and station them. Some armed personnel are proposed to maintain public order. This is entirely for the sake of long-term trade cooperation with you. I don’t think Mr. Zheng will object?”
Zheng Zha pondered for a long time before asking noncommittally: "What is the second condition?"
"The second condition is the black soil port we are building in the northeast. I believe you already know about it. I hope you can recognize the legitimacy of its existence." Tao Dong came to see Zheng Zao and didn't seem to understand what he said. He continued to explain: "The so-called legality includes the rights of the Haihan people to settle locally, the rights of the Annan people to accept our employment and settle in Black Earth Port, and we enjoy the power of administrative autonomy and legal judgment in the local area."
It would be fine if Tao Donglai didn't explain. This explanation made Zheng Zha even more confused. He had never even heard of what the other party said, let alone fully understood its meaning. But despite this, Zheng Zha still had a general understanding of what the other party wanted to achieve - the Haihan people seemed to hope that the coal-producing port they established in the Northeast would gain an independent status.
Regarding the security issue of Black Earth Port, the Executive Committee has put a lot of thought into it. From the initial site selection, security and external defense have been the top priorities of the overseas base. However, due to its current strength, Black Earth Port has neither maritime power protection nor coastal fortification defense. Even the military and police force only has about a hundred people. It can only maintain public order internally. It can be said that the external defense force is Extremely limited.
As the trade between the Crossing Group and the North Vietnamese regime unfolds, the other party will definitely notice the existence of the Black Earth Port. No one can say whether the North Vietnamese regime will be dissatisfied with this nail in the northeastern region of the country. Black Tu Port is only 40 nautical miles away from the seaport near Haiphong. Even the navy with the fifth dregs of the North Vietnam War can get there. For Black Tu Port, external military threats still exist.
Therefore, the Executive Committee wants to seize the trade opportunity and reach relevant agreements with the North Vietnamese regime as much as possible to legalize the existence of the Black Earth Port. Even if this kind of agreement is only temporary, it would be good to ensure local peace for three to five years - the Military and Police Department is fully confident that it can beat the shit out of any force that dares to invade Black Earth Port at that time.
Zheng Zha did not rush to express his position, but began to think about the purpose of the other party's two conditions. Tao Donglai's first condition didn't seem to be a problem in Zheng Zha's opinion. This place was originally deserted, the terrain was narrow, food could not be grown, and there was no production, so it had no practical value at all. The only thing worthy of praise here is probably the two natural harbors which are more suitable for ships to dock. Perhaps the Haihan people who came across the sea took a fancy to this. As for building a business store and stationing personnel here, Zheng Zha thinks it is not a big deal. In the future, transactions between the two parties can be carried out at fixed points here, saving the time of sending messages back and forth every time. It is really convenient as the other party said.
As for the armed men Tao Donglai mentioned, Zheng Zha didn't take it seriously. What wealthy family doesn't have a few thugs to look after the house and the home? Since the Haihan people want to build a business warehouse here to stack goods, they naturally have to have some guards stationed here. This request sounds very reasonable.
"I can agree to the first condition you proposed, but the second condition..." Zheng Zha was a little hesitant about the second condition proposed by Tao Donglai.
That's not it here on the Tushan Peninsula. The Haihan people just opened a business inn and built a small dock. No matter how much they messed with, this place was only so big. At best, it was just the difference between a large business inn and a small one.
But the meaning of existence of Kuitu Port is different from that of Tushan Peninsula. Not only have thousands of people settled in the area, but there is also a steady stream of coal production. This production is equivalent to generating money. It is unjustifiable that this kind of place should not be placed under the government's control. And now the Haihan people actually propose to hand over that land to themselves for management. Isn't this extremely ridiculous? As for the reason that Black Earth Port was developed by the Haihan people, this reason was not considered by Zheng Zha at all - it was just a group of maritime businessmen who built some houses on my Annan territory and wanted to allocate that land. Own it? No way!
But the current situation is not that simple. Zheng Zha wanted to reject Tao Donglai's condition, but he had to worry about what attitude the Haihan people would take towards the North Vietnamese regime after rejecting it. Now the goods sold by the other party are not only refined salt, but also important weapons of the country such as muskets and artillery. Before coming, Zheng Zhi had repeatedly told him to confirm whether the weapons provided by the Haihan people were suitable for use and whether they could be provided for a long time. As for other transaction conditions, Zheng Zhi said that they can be considered as appropriate, but this involves the territorial issue of Annan Kingdom, so what kind of discretionary method should be used?
Zheng Zha knows that his father attaches great importance to territorial issues. Now the Nguyen clan in North Vietnam wants to attack the remnants of the Mo dynasty in the mountains in the north, while also crusading against the Nguyen clan rebels in the south. In the final analysis, it is not all about unifying the territory of Annan. . In Zheng Zha's view, the Haihan people's request was tantamount to dividing the territory and splitting the country. Even if he agreed here, he would definitely not be able to pass it when he got to the old man.
If he agrees to the conditions of the Haihan people, he won't be able to pay the commission when he returns. If he doesn't agree, he will offend the Haihan people and disturb the source of the weapons that he finally has a lot of interest in. Zheng Zha is really in a dilemma for a while, not knowing what to choose.
After a long time, Zheng Zha showed an embarrassed look on his face and said, "This second condition is too difficult for you to propose. I apologize for not being able to agree to it."
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(End of chapter)