Chapter 294 The guest star
This battle is not just a conflict between Japanese maritime merchants and the East India Company's Taiwan office, but the struggle for interests hidden behind it is the key. Because of the Ming Dynasty's trade ban with Japan, it was difficult for Japanese people to buy Chinese goods directly from China's trade ports. They had to go around a long way and buy from the Dutch, who were second-rate dealers. They would inevitably be heavily ripped off. This was something the Japanese felt. There must have been considerable resentment. The Dutch were also very dissatisfied with the fact that Japanese businessmen who came to Taiwan never paid taxes. There was a precedent of Japanese businessmen having their goods confiscated by the Dutch because of their refusal to pay taxes.
However, for the Time Travel Group, the conflict between the two families is an opportunity that can be exploited. However, due to the limitations of its own shipping capacity, the Crossing Group currently does not have enough ability to reach out to the Taiwan Strait or even Japan, so this great opportunity can only be obtained by taking advantage of Xu Xinsu first.
Originally, among the three parties, the Netherlands was the middleman, and Japan and Ming Dynasty needed to trade through the Dutch. After Japan and the Netherlands fall out, it can be said that there will be a huge gap in the Japanese market. Whoever strikes first will benefit. If the Japanese want to purchase Daming goods in the next few years, almost the only solution is to cooperate with Xu Xinsu. Although the Ming Dynasty had a trade ban with Japan, this ban could not control Xu Xinsu, who started out as a pirate and smuggler. As long as he was willing to do so, there were plenty of places along the Fujian coast that could be used to conduct private transactions with Japanese businessmen.
Xu Xinsu now has a monopoly on the trade between the Ming Dynasty and the Dutch. If he can control the trade relationship with Japan, he will really be heading towards the goal of becoming as rich as the enemy. According to the original history, from 1628 to 1632, the trade between Japan and the Netherlands would be interrupted for nearly four years. As long as it was controlled well, this would be enough for Xu Xinsu to make several gold and silver mountains from it.
Of course, the Executive Committee will never let Xu Xinsu's family get bigger. After its own maritime power is gradually strengthened, it is only a matter of time before Haihan intervenes in the Northeast Asia route. As for the possibility that Xu Xinsu will backlash due to conflicts of interest in the future, the Executive Committee is not particularly worried - Xu Xinsu's subordinates should have been equipped with a large number of weapons produced by Haihan by then, and the Cross-Travel Group will be in charge of ammunition supply and maintenance. Maintenance is enough to choke the opponent's neck, not to mention the huge generation gap in performance of the weapon itself.
Ning Qi didn't fully explain what he said, which made Dong Yanyun a little confused. However, he has been working for Xu Xinsu for many years. Although he has never been to Japan, he is still very clear about the turmoil between Japanese businessmen and the Dutch East India Company. Since the East India Company imprisoned Japanese businessmen, what will happen if this matter becomes big? Dong Yanyun can also guess what the consequences will be. But he really couldn't figure out how the Haihan people who lived in the southern corner of Qiongzhou Island got the news about what happened on Dayuan Island.
If someone else had said such nonsense, Dong Yanyun would have scoffed at it without even hearing it. The annual transaction volume between Japan and the East India Company is around one million taels. Both parties have been carefully maintaining such a large business. Even Xu Xinsu has never had a good way to intervene, otherwise the raw silk would have been sold directly. Prices are high in Japan. The entanglements of interests between the Ming Dynasty, Japan, and the East India Company are extremely complicated. How can outsiders make rash comments?
But the person who said this was a senior member of the Haihan people, so that was another matter. This is not just because Fujian now relies on the Haihan people and must pay enough attention to the opinions of the Haihan people. More importantly, before coming to Victory Port, Dong Yanyun also heard some shocking rumors in Guangzhou. .
It is said that before Emperor Tianqi died and Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the Haihan people gave some hints to the "Fu Ruifeng" Li family to draw a clear line between the Li family and the local eunuchs in Guangdong. The reliability of this rumor is not credible, but in the nationwide investigation of eunuchs in recent months, many businessmen in Guangzhou have been dragged into the water because of their close contacts with eunuchs in the past. "Fu Rui, who has extensive contacts in local officialdom, "Feng" miraculously escaped the disaster, and the mystery behind this is somewhat unclear.
Dong Yanyun can be regarded as a person who has seen the world. If it only stays at the level of market rumors, he may not care. However, "Fu Ruifeng" has never made any form of clarification on such rumors on any occasion. Instead, it recently did something that Dong Yanyun couldn't understand - Li Nai, the third son of the Li family, was A certain restaurant had a dispute with the eldest son of Li Fengjie, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, over a trivial matter, and it is said that they almost had a fight. Afterwards, "Fu Ruifeng" did not take any measures to deal with the aftermath. It neither apologized publicly nor asked someone to make peace in private. It seemed that it had no worries about offending the governor.
Dong Yanyun didn't know who Li Fengjie's eldest son was, but Li Nai had met him - he visited the Guangdong Office twice and met Li Sangong, who was said to have close contacts with the Haihan people. Talking and laughing. Although he has no direct contact, Dong Yanyun also knows that Mr. Li San is a scholar with a good reputation and has traveled to many places. His cultural level and ideological insights are extraordinary. He is well-known in Guangzhou. How could the second generation of rich people so unwisely offend the top prince in Guangdong and Guangxi?
In view of the fact that some local officials that "Fu Ruifeng" had been enemies with before had been arrested in the eunuch investigation, Dong Yanyun believed that Li Nai's actions were most likely intentional - deliberately creating such an incident to show that he Li Fengjie, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, is not the same person. This kind of behavior is very dangerous, almost seeking death. If Li Fengjie can stay in this position for another year and a half, life will definitely be difficult for "Fu Ruifeng". Even if Li Fengjie can't hold any big handle on "Fu Ruifeng" for a while, he is still the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, the right minister of the Ministry of War, and the right censor of the capital. With so many positions, he will always find other tricks to slowly wear out "Fu Ruifeng". Ruifeng".
But if Li Fengjie really fails in the near future, then "Fu Ruifeng" will have made the right bet again. This situation is not impossible. In recent years, the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi have been like a revolving door, and the speed of rotation is rare in history. This rhythm started when Chen Bangzhan handed over his seat to Hu Yingtai in the fourth year of Tianqi. Then Hu Yingtai was succeeded by He Shijin that year, and He Shijin did not sit for too long. In the fifth year of Tianqi, he handed the seat to Shang Zhouzuo. In the second year after Shang Zhouzuo came to power, he was promoted to Minister of War, but he asked to retire that year and gave up all his public duties. So in the sixth year of Tianqi, Li Fengjie, who is now in office, took over.
With four governors in four years, no one can guarantee how long Li Fengjie will be able to stay in the post of governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. Maybe the new emperor's brain will get hot, and the imperial edict to remove him from his position will come to Guangzhou one day. But the problem is that no one dares to bet on this with their own wealth, but "Fu Ruifeng" did so. Dong Yanyun believed that there must be some reason that he didn't know. Judging from the closeness between "Fu Ruifeng" Li Sangong and the Haihan people, Dong Yanyun had to admit that the rumored Haihan people gave guidance to the "Fu Ruifeng" immortal actually had a certain degree of credibility.
But those are all matters of Guangdong after all. Almost all of Xu Xinsu's properties are in Fujian. Whether the governors of Guangdong and Guangxi are changed will not affect Xu Xinsu's family business. But if there is a conflict between Japan and the East India Company, then Xu Xinsu really has nothing to do with it. vital interests. If we want to change the trade relations with Japan and the Dutch East India Company, then the sooner we prepare for many things, the better. And this kind of preparation will definitely involve some risks. If what the Haihan people said is true, then there is indeed a chance. Make a lot of money, if it is just nonsense, it will really make Xu Xinsu miserable.
Out of careful consideration, Dong Yanyun felt that he should ask for some more inside information, at least to make himself convinced that this guy named Ning was not randomly deceiving him. Dong Yanyun thought for a while before saying: "When I was in Guangzhou, I heard that 'Fu Ruifeng' also received a lot of advice from you on the current situation. I wonder if it is true or false?"
"Yes, it happened." Ning Qi made no secret of this. To be a magic stick, you have to look like a magic stick: "If we hadn't given the Li family guidance in advance, 'Fu Ruifeng' would have been there by now." It was copied by Jin Yiwei.”
Dong Yanyun didn't expect Ning Qi to answer so directly. He was startled and asked tentatively: "I wonder if the third son of Li from 'Fu Ruifeng' recently had a conflict with the eldest son of the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi. What do you think? ?”
"Whatever caused the conflict was because we asked him to do it." Ning Qi readily admitted the fact: "Li Fengjie won the official position in a few days, why did he still stick to him? It's better to have a falling out as soon as possible to avoid resigning. The governor thought "Fu Ruifeng" was on the same side as Li Fengjie!"
"Is this happening? I wonder where Mr. Ning learned about it?" Dong Yanyun simply didn't know how to react to Ning Qi's statement.
"Heaven's secret!" Ning Qi pointed to the sky seriously: "There are some things that are good to know roughly. Don't know too detailed, otherwise something may happen easily."
Dong Yanyun said: "What is the proof?"
Ning Qi sighed and said: "I particularly don't like people like you who are inquisitive... Well, if I don't say something, you probably won't believe it, so let's talk about Mr. Li Fengjie's successor!"< br>
Next to him, Tao Donglai suppressed his smile and said, "Old Ning, aren't you afraid of being punished by God if you keep leaking secrets like this?"
Ning Qi sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it. This is for the benefit of the collective, and it's worth sacrificing myself personally!" When Dong Yanyun heard that there was something useful, he quickly held his breath and listened to Ning Qi's revelation.
"Li Fengjie will be dismissed within a few months... No, he is dismissed." Ning Qi coughed and said, "The person who will succeed him is Wang Zunde, who once served as the censor of Guangdong."
"No, no!" Dong Yanyun shook his head repeatedly and said: "If you are talking about other people, that's fine, but I have a fellow countryman who is a servant in Mr. Wang's family. I know a little about him! During the Wanli period, he did serve as a servant. The censor of Guangdong was also the governor of Guangxi in the fifth year of Tianqi. A few months ago, he was appointed by the late emperor as the right minister of the Ministry of War, but he was dismissed within a few days. Now he is idle at home, how could he suddenly come out to take over the post of Guangxi? A position like Governor?”
Ning Qi shook his head and said: "Mr. Dong, you just know it but don't know why. How many of those people used by Emperor Tianqi can still sit well in their seats? Are the people dismissed by Emperor Tianqi, Emperor Chongzhen? Can’t use it?”
Although Dong Yanyun was a smuggler, he still had awe of the imperial power in his heart. He certainly did not dare to criticize the emperor's actions like Ning Qi. At the moment, he just shook his head, feeling that these Haihan people were really talking nonsense, but they couldn't say anything. What objections.
Ning Qi smiled and further revealed: "It's not like the successor Wang will be able to achieve success in one step. Emperor Chongzhen will soon re-appoint him as the right minister of the Ministry of Justice. If you don't believe me, just wait and see. Half a year Within a short period of time, Emperor Chongzhen will appoint him as the governor of Guangdong and Guangdong, and also as the governor of Guangdong. If you want to build a good relationship, you should burn the cold stove now, and don’t say I didn’t remind you then.”
Dong Yanyun opened his mouth in surprise, and after a while he murmured: "So that 'Fu Ruifeng' Mr. Li Third just listened to your words and did this?"
"Do you think everyone in the Li family is crazy? In a few months, when Li Jifeng becomes the guest of the new Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, you will know if they are crazy." Ning Qi said calmly: "The Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi will definitely be replaced. , there will definitely be a big conflict between Japan and the red-haired people. After you go back, you can report these two things to your master. Anyway, the results will be seen soon, and it won’t take too long to verify. From now on, neither you nor Mr. Xu should have any thoughts of questioning our decision.”
Dong Yanyun's brain was about to shut down due to the amount of information he received at this time. After he said goodbye in a daze and left, Tao Donglai smiled and said, "Ning Qi, are you planning to take the path of a magic stick?"
Ning Qi smiled and said: "Forget it being a magic stick, it goes against my image of a great educator in the eyes of students. Appropriate spoilers can still be used. Schneider's spoilers in Guangzhou have been very effective. I think this method It can be used in a targeted manner in the future. You said that after this is verified, will Xu Xinsu still have the courage to question our decision?”
"Even if he doesn't fully believe it, it can at least increase our prestige." Yan Chujie continued. When Ning Qi fooled Dong Yanyun just now, he was holding it in too much. If Ning Qi hadn't taken a chance and glared at him, he would have laughed out loud.
Tao Donglai put away his smile and concluded: "Shipbuilders, silkworm seeds, and copper, the three most important things have basically been agreed upon, and the next step is to wait for implementation. However, Fujian is indeed too far apart. Once we go back and forth, it will be at least another month or two until they have organized what we need before coming to Victory Port. The cycle from Japan is estimated to be longer. It would be good to have Japanese copper shipped within half a year. ”
"So should we sell arms to them this time?" Yan Chujie also brought the topic back to business.
"Sell, but it still has to be limited. You can sell more guns and less artillery." Tao Donglai already has a corresponding sales strategy for this: "Xu Xinsu is a defender of the city. If he sells too many artillery, '18 Zhi' can't continue fighting at all."
"But this guy brought 300,000 taels of silver here, so we can't let him go easily." Ning Qi touched his chin and said, "How about holding a separate product promotion meeting for him tomorrow?"
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"You can have this." Tao Donglai nodded and said: "Although we currently have insufficient production capacity, we can first sell some samples to Fujian to build awareness and increase the presence of our Haihan products first."
In the next two days, in addition to visiting a series of infrastructure projects in Victory Port under the arrangement of the executive committee, Dong Yanyun also ordered a lot of Haihan products through the product promotion meeting specially prepared for him by the commercial department. He had seen most of these things on the market in Guangzhou and on the product list of the Guangdong Office in Guangzhou. He had even seen some glass stationery being sold by merchants when he was in Zhangzhou. However, the shipping price of Victory Port is indeed much lower than that of Guangzhou, and the variety of goods that can be selected is much richer than that of Guangzhou - many things in Guangzhou will be sold out quickly as soon as they come on the market, and they have been in a stable state for a long time. Priceless and out of stock. Not to mention Fujian, basically only sporadic Haihan goods can be trafficked, and so far they are only collections of a few high-level people in society. The reputation of Haihan goods is far less famous than that of Guangzhou.
But Dong Yanyun is an old businessman, and he understands the principle that rare things are more valuable. Even if these things are not well-known in Fujian, the sales after being trafficked back will definitely be extremely hot. It is not difficult to replicate the process in Fujian for products that can become popular in the Guangzhou market. He has already found out exactly how the popularity of Haihan's products became popular in Guangzhou.
Dong Yanyun can even imagine now how these Haihan products were robbed after being shipped back to Fujian - there really aren't too many wealthy people in Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou, like glass products. They will really spend the same weight of silver to buy things.
Of course, the most important thing is the two hundred matchlock guns and two Haihan guns purchased from Victory Port this time. Although the quantity was indeed a little less, at least he did not return empty-handed. Dong Yanyun could also pay homage to his master's family after returning. As for how much arms he can buy when he comes to Victory Port next time, Haihan has made it very clear that it depends on how many useful things he can bring from Fujian next time.
In addition, Dong Yanyun also had to circle a piece of land in Shengli Port and paid two years of land use fees in advance. Although this matter was his own decision, after seeing many mainland businessmen investing in land and building business warehouses here, Dong Yanyun believed that his decision would be recognized by Xu Xinsu. Of course, the most important thing is that the dense forts built on both sides of the entry channel here make people feel very safe. Dong Yanyun even feels that even if the "Eighteen Zhi" fleet arrives here, it may not be easy to leave.
(End of chapter)