Chapter 235 Additional Conditions
During this period, the Ming army had actually installed firearms on a large scale. In particular, the infantry units had a large amount of matchlocks and various muskets and rockets. The soldiers who used firearms accounted for about one-third of the total number of soldiers. Moreover, the coastal areas of Fujian have always been the areas hardest hit by pirates. The Ming army here is also relatively well-equipped, which is much better than the troops in remote areas like Yazhou Shuizhai. When Luo Shengdong raided the Yulin fishing village and crossed the masses, if it were not equipped The muskets are too old and can only be used as cold weapons in combat. They might be able to kill a few time-travelers.
The regular Ming army may not be able to defeat the pirates of the "Eighteen Zhi" at sea, but they can maintain an undefeated situation on land by relying on their equipment advantages. But Xu Xinsu was at a disadvantage because he accepted the recruitment too late. It was not until the war situation began to get tense that he thought of surrendering to the court. For a while, he would not be able to receive the firearms that the Ming army equipped for the regular army. Although the firearms in his own hands were limited, The quality is no worse than "Eighteen Zhi", but the quantity gap is too big, so it has always been passively beaten.
Xu Xinsu also asked the Dutch for help after the war, but because "Eighteen Zhi" also had trade relations with the Dutch, the Dutch finally chose to remain neutral and not help each other. If this batch of arms shipped from Guangdong did not save the crisis, the territory controlled by Xu Xinsu would only become smaller and smaller, and would eventually be wiped out by the "Eighteen Zhi" in the Zhongzuo in the following year.
There are a small number of Ming Army standard firearms in Xu Xinsu's army. According to the feedback information "Fu Ruifeng" received from Fujian, it can be basically determined that the monkey version of the arms currently exported by the Cross-Travel Group is still superior to the current Ming Army standard firearms in terms of performance. , and the price sold by "Furuifeng" is basically the same as the black market price of Ming military firearms. The only thing that made Xu Xinsu dissatisfied was that the quantity of this batch of arms was too small, especially the muskets - of the two hundred guns "Furuifeng" bought last time, only 150 were delivered in the first batch. The fifty units shipped to Guangzhou by the second echelon of the Guangdong Office were intercepted by "Furuifeng" and were prepared to be used as equipment for their own militia.
Although Xu Xinsu is not as powerful as the "Eighteen Zhi" in terms of numbers, he still has thousands of people under his command. How can these more than a hundred muskets be enough? After two high-intensity battles, the new gun began to have sporadic failures, and there were no local craftsmen familiar with firearm repairs. Once something went wrong, it would be impossible to repair it. The most terrible thing is that the ammunition issued by these guns is very limited and is almost running out.
The muskets were okay, with thirty rounds of ammunition each, but the artillery's ammunition was simply deceiving, with only ten rounds. Xu Xinsu was not even willing to use the original ammunition in the first battle. It was not until the second battle that she was forced to use the original ammunition, which was said to be very powerful, because she was under too much pressure.
This high-priced ammunition did not disappoint Xu Xinsu. Not only did the range be one-third longer than that of home-made ammunition, but the propellant powder packaged by weight was easy to load, and the firing method of pulling the fire tube was also smoother and safer. But after this battle, all the original ammunition issued was used. As long as the size of the cannonball is measured, you can make it yourself, but the powerful gunpowder is a rare thing. Xu Xinsu summoned craftsmen from Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou to study together. In the end, he could not figure out what exactly the ingredients of this unique gunpowder were, and what they were. How to make such uniform fine particles? You must know that the gunpowder of the same era was all in powder form. The craftsmen tried out a variety of formulas, but none of them could reach the same level of power. The tense situation left Xu Xinsu with little time to do scientific research, so the only solution left for him was to continue buying and buying.
The arms deal between "Fu Ruifeng" and Xu Xinsu is very secretive, and only a handful of high-level personnel on both sides know about it. This is not because "Furuifeng" wants to dominate Fujian's arms market, but once the news leaks out, it will most likely bring great trouble to "Furuifeng" - Fuguang Coastal At present, more than half of the places are under the control of "Eighteen Zhi". If these pirates find out that "Furuifeng" sells arms to their opponents, the consequences can be imagined.
In order to ensure the security of future arms transactions, both parties are already planning to change the trading channel from sea to land. Although this change will greatly increase transportation costs and transportation time, it also greatly reduces the risks of arms during transportation. No matter how "Eighteen Zhi" can fight, it will only be at sea, and their power will not be able to penetrate deep into the inland areas. And Xu Xinsu believed that as long as one's own firepower equipment was strong enough to a certain extent, it would be a matter of time before it regained the initiative on the battlefield.
After listening to Li Nai's account, Tao Donglai pondered: "Have the arms currently sold to Fujian attracted the attention of local officials?"
Li Nai shook his head and said, "Don't worry about that. Xu Xinsu was probably worried that his large-scale purchases would be misunderstood by his boss, Mr. Yu, so he claimed that he purchased these firearms from Folangjiren with his own money, and added our selling price to the public. It has been pushed up a lot, and the Ming army may not be interested in such high-priced weapons.”
You'll be interested in it in a year or two! Tao Donglai thought with some malice in his heart that when the northeast was tight again and the Ming Ministry of War wanted to buy weapons, the prosperous Fujian coast would naturally attract their attention. Having said that, even if the Ming Army wants to purchase weapons from Chuan Chuan Group, the order will have to be scheduled until next year. The existing arms production capacity is still tight in Fujian and Vietnam, and other major customers cannot be considered for the time being.
Yan Chujie asked: "Mr. Li, based on your understanding of the situation in Fujian, is it possible for Xu Xinsu to purchase large quantities of weapons from us in the future?"
Li Nai said solemnly: "According to my father's estimation, the current number of purchases is just the beginning. Xu Xinsu and the Eighteen Zhi are already in a fight to the death, but the territory, manpower, and ships controlled by the Eighteen Zhi's side are all It is several times stronger than Xu Xinsu. If he wants to win this battle, he can only rely on the quick guns and cannons produced by Haihan."
Tao Donglai said: "If Xu Xinsu wants to buy a large amount of our arms in the future, then we need to put forward an additional condition."
Li Nai said in shock: "Do you want to increase the price?"
"Price increase?" Tao Donglai smiled and shook his head: "What we are short of now is not money."
Li Nai has been to Victory Port twice and has a relatively good understanding of the situation of the crossing group. He understood what Tao Donglai meant after thinking about it for a while: "Ship?"
"That's right, it's a ship!" Tao Donglai nodded approvingly: "As the largest maritime merchant on the coast of Fujian, Xu Xinsu should have many ships under his command, right?"
"Although I don't know the specific number, there are always three to four hundred ships." Li Nai responded.
"There are many large ships that can cross the ocean, right?" Tao Donglai asked next.
"There should be dozens of ships." Li Nai had already vaguely guessed the conditions Tao Donglai was going to propose next.
"Whether it is renting or selling, within two months, let him provide us with a batch of 400-material sea-going ships as soon as possible. If he is not willing to cooperate, then we will limit the subsequent supply of arms." Tao Donglaihao Conditions were made unabashedly.
"A batch?" Li Nai had some doubts about this vague number. "A batch means no less than ten ships." Yue Zhiyun from the Ministry of Shipping took over and said: "Don't fool us with those disposable cargo ships that go to Southeast Asia."
The so-called disposable cargo ships are because the Ming Dynasty's foreign trade exports exceeded its imports at that time, and ships going to Southeast Asia for trade often came back empty. In order to reduce transportation costs, many maritime merchants use extremely cheap miscellaneous wood to build ships and simplify the hull structure as much as possible, just to make it possible to travel one way. After arriving in Batavia or Manila, he sold the ship and goods together, and then took another ship back. The cost of building this kind of ship is extremely low, and there is basically no quality at all.
"It's best to bring sailors with you. You know, sailors here are a scarce resource." Tao Donglai added: "As for the cost of the ship, it can be deducted from the arms purchased in the future."
Li Nai asked hesitantly: "Then if Xu Xinsu agrees to this condition, what benefits can he get?"
"We guarantee that he can purchase at least 200 muskets, five 6-pounders and 12-pounders each month from Port Victory, or from you. In addition, the supply of ammunition can be increased on the existing basis." Tao The "preferential" conditions offered by Donglai were also very limited. Compared with the additional conditions offered to the other party, they can be described as mean.
But Li Nai knew that Xu Xinsu, who was far away in Fujian, probably had no choice at all. Regardless of whether he was willing or not, he would eventually have to accept the conditions of the Haihan people. Because apart from here, it is impossible for Xu Xinsu to find another seller who can provide him with arms on a large scale for a long time. Even the Dutch who have already established a stronghold in Taiwan cannot do this. If Xu Xinsu wants to continue fighting against the "Eighteen Zhi", she can only follow the arrangements of the Haihan people and provide them with maritime transportation capacity.
Li Nai also knew what the Haihan people wanted to do with so many ships. With their ability, it was only a matter of time before they could expand their business to several trading ports along the coast of the mainland and even in Southeast Asia. But now the Haihan people's actions We are trying every possible way to shorten the time required in between.
After having been in contact with the Haihan people for a long time, Li Nai also learned a little bit about the way the Haihan people look at problems. They have a clear purpose in everything they do, but this purpose does not only affect the present, but also It is probably due to longer-term and deeper considerations - in the words of the Haihan people, this is called "looking at the problem from a macro perspective."
Now that Li Nai thinks back on the entire arms trade process, he admires the Haihan people's "macro" vision even more. From the beginning, the Haihan people had already made plans to sell the arms to Xu Xinsu's side. At that time, Li Nai really believed that the matter was just as the Haihan people said. The purpose of choosing the target for sale was to maintain a balance of power in the war in Fujian, so that the war in Fujian could be maintained. Sell more arms during longer engagements and earn more. But now Li Nai thinks that in addition to this reason, the Haihan people actually have other plans - to use the arms trade to tie up Xu Xinsu, so that he has to provide maritime transportation capacity for the Haihan people for a long time, and Xu Xinsu's ships are all ready-made , which is much faster than Haihan people trying their luck to buy second-hand ships in Guangzhou and placing orders with shipyards to schedule shipbuilding.
Of course, this kind of calculation must be based on an accurate prediction of the situation. If the war situation was tense at that time not Xu Xinsu but "Eighteen Zhi", then the threat of stockout proposed by the Haihan people now would be useless. . Or maybe the weapons were sold to "Eighteen Zhi" from the beginning. Then maybe the Zhongzuo Institute has changed its name and Xu Xinsu's head has been hung on the wall of Zhangzhou City. This is not the first time that the Haihan people's accurate prediction ability has been demonstrated.
Just before Li Nai left Guangzhou, Emperor Tianqi passed away, and the news of King Xin's succession has been rushed to Guangzhou from 800 miles away. The person who was most stimulated by this news was not the local officials, but Li Jifeng, the big boss of "Furuifeng" who had received Schneider's spoiler information in advance. Although King Xin had not officially held his enthronement ceremony when the news reached Guangzhou, Li Jifeng no longer doubted the Haihan people's ability to predict. Only then did Li Jifeng tell his two sons who had returned from other places about the Haihan people's predictions. This terrifying ability to predict things also left a deep imprint on Li Nai's heart.
Li Nai believes that during the two-month arms trade process, the development of the situation has also confirmed the correctness of these decisions made by the Haihan people step by step. Almost every step is progressing in accordance with the wishes of the Haihan people, especially this time The additional transaction requirements put forward by the Haihan people fully prove that they have a comprehensive plan for the subsequent development.
Regarding these conditions, Li Nai could only agree unconditionally. Anyway, it was not "Fu Ruifeng" who was going to ship out the ship, and his family would not suffer any actual economic losses in the process. As for Fujian, I believe that at the moment Xu Xinsu, who was in an unfavorable situation in the war, should be "happy" to be the enemy after learning the news - anyway, a considerable number of his ships are currently blocked offshore, so it would be more useful to replace them with Haihan. The arms go back.
The Ministry of Shipping then proposed that ships from Fujian be allowed to load immigrants and supplies in Guangzhou before heading south to Victory Port. At present, Chuanchuan Group is faced with two major tasks: the arrival of the immigration wave and the increase of production capacity. The amount of materials required will also be greatly increased, especially the local production of cloth, saltpeter, sulfur, copper, etc. is extremely limited, and most of them must be sourced from the mainland. purchase. For this reason, the Executive Committee has long been interested in establishing a direct route between Victory Port and Guangzhou, but it has been suffering from insufficient maritime transport capacity, and now it seems that it has seen a glimmer of hope to solve the problem.
Tao Donglai said: "Since Mr. Li agrees, we will regard Fulifeng as having expressed its attitude. In order to save time, we will notify the Guangdong Office and Mr. Schneider will contact your bank to handle the follow-up matters."
If we had to wait for the "Fu Ruifeng" ship to return to Guangzhou and then slowly contact Fujian, it would be at least ten days late. The executive committee would definitely not want to waste so much time on unnecessary waiting. Immediately, someone took the meeting minutes and went to the communications center and sent a telegram to the Guangdong Office. If everything goes well, Schneider will visit Li Jifeng tomorrow at the latest to discuss requesting ships from Fujian.
Li Nai came to Victory Port this time and did not intend to return to Guangzhou in the short term. After the transaction was completed, the two ships would return to Guangzhou carrying the purchased Haihan products, and he would stay in Victory Port to supervise The construction of shops and other facilities invested here. Of course, the so-called supervision of construction is just a reason. The real reason is that Li Jifeng hopes to have a deeper understanding of the daily operations of the Haihan people, and Li Nai, who has established a relatively harmonious relationship with the Haihan people, is definitely the most suitable candidate. .
When Tao Donglai heard that Li Nai was going to stay in Victory Port for a while, he didn't take it seriously. The last time Li Nai came to Victory Port, he also stayed there for about ten days. Moreover, the Executive Committee does not intend to ban Li Nai, because his scope of activities is actually only the area from Victory Port to Base No. 1. There are currently only two production units here, the shipyard and the woodwork factory, and there are not many secrets to speak of. The executive committee believes that with Li Nai's level, there is no way to steal from these two places. As for the Tiandu Industrial Zone and the military camp that were designated as restricted areas, Li Nai would not be able to enter without the guidance of a time traveler.
Several charcoal kilns built near Base No. 1 at the beginning of the landing were all shut down as the fuel problem was solved. This is not because charcoal is no longer needed, but because this place is too close to the residential area, and people who have traveled through it have stopped. The reaction is too dusty. At present, there are still several charcoal kilns in Tiandu area that continue to operate, and most of the charcoal produced is used in chemical production rather than being burned as fuel. For example, gunpowder, which is currently in great demand, requires a large amount of charcoal as raw material. .
However, the scale of the wood factory and shipyard has now expanded a lot compared to a few months ago. The wood drying room has also grown from the original one to the current five. The wood processed at the same time can be used to build four ships with a displacement of 200. Used for Chinese sailing ships weighing around 1,000 tons. The experimental wooden ship on the slipway of the shipyard has basically taken shape. Li Nai had already noticed the existence of the ship when he entered the port by boat. He wanted to take this opportunity to take a good look at the ship, which has many skilled craftsmen. What kind of ship can the Haihan people build?
At the routine reception banquet that day, Li Nai was once again deceived and drunk by a group of unscrupulous talkers. After getting up the next day, Li Nai packed up and had breakfast. He first went to the construction site in Shengli Port Business District and was relieved when he saw that his own supervisors and craftsmen had already entered the site and started construction. The executive committee designated an area of five acres for "Fu Ruifeng" in one breath, where a business store with a warehouse, a restaurant and a brothel will be built. Because "Furuifeng" was the first foreign merchant to invest here, it also got priority in choosing a location. At that time, Li Nai and He Qiang did not choose the place closest to the pier, but chose Li No. 1. The piece of land closest to the base gate.
(End of chapter)