Chapter 1045 Agent
The high-end goods that Wang Tom brought out were not the types sold in the market, but a special edition specially used as social gifts. Only the upper class people in various countries who were familiar with Haihan could receive the gifts. The price mentioned by Tom Wang is only for reference, but in fact there is no place to buy such high-end goods with money. Although the portion is small, the meaning of being delivered by Tom Wang is extraordinary. Although Ma Ling is only a member of a thousand households, he has received many welcomes and gifts all year round, and has extensive experience in officialdom. He knows very well how much of a favor it is to receive such a personal gift from his superiors. This small box of snuff is far more valuable than the king's. It would be more practical for Tom to praise him verbally.
Wang Tom said: "Since Ma Qianhu thinks snuff is a good thing, why not try to help us sell it in the areas around Sanmen Bay! Of course, Ma Qianhu will not let Ma Qianhu's work go in vain and sell it through you. We will give a certain percentage of the commission as hard work fee. What does Ma Qianhu think?”
This Ma Ling is indeed someone who has worked hard and done his homework. He is no stranger to Haihan's trading system. Hearing this, he asked: "Did your humble job become a local agent distributor?"
Tom Wang laughed and said: "It seems that you know a lot of things! Well, it saves you the trouble of explaining it to you. What you said is right and can be understood as such, but I would like to add that becoming our After becoming a distributor, the benefits can be shared, but the risks must also be shared, do you understand what I mean? ”
Ma Ling was overjoyed and quickly stood up and bowed in response: "I understand my humble position. Thank you for your advice, chief!"
During the year that Haihan occupied Shipu, the number of maritime merchants passing through Shipu from the south to the north was at least several times greater than in the past, and Ma Ling was also able to learn about Haihan's various trading methods from the side, as well as the Ming Dynasty in this trading system. The most profitable group of people on one side are the Ming businessmen who Haihan calls "agent distributors".
Haihan's sales channels in Daming are expanded and maintained through this group of agent distributors, and because Haihan's products have always been in short supply in the Daming market, the profits are also very generous. For state-level agents, In other words, as long as the channels are rolled out in the early stage, you will basically be sitting at home counting money later. Moreover, Haihan will provide a complete set of operation plans on how to set prices and operate operations. If necessary, Haihan can also obtain financial assistance and even provide force protection.
Haihan's business model already has relatively mature operating experience in Fuguang. After entering Zhejiang, it only slightly changed some details according to local conditions. There are profit seekers everywhere, and there will always be some bold people who will take the initiative to try to cooperate with Haihan. Once someone tastes the benefits, subsequent promotion will be easier.
Ma Ling had actually been coveting this business for a long time, but he knew that as a surrendered general, it was difficult to gain the full trust of the Haihan people, and he did not dare to mention this matter in front of Qian Tiandun and others. I didn't expect that pies would actually fall from the sky. Tom Wang, who met for the first time, actually gave him such a big gift. Compared with the snuff bottles made of blue field jade that he gave just now, they really couldn't be considered expensive gifts. If I could get this snuff agent, I'd probably earn back hundreds of snuff bottles in a year.
Regarding how to obtain the qualifications of this agent, Ma Ling only knew one thing but not the other. In addition to the businessmen who obtained the agency rights through public channels at the Zhoushan investment conference last year, there was also a group of people who were also very familiar with Haihan. Those who are willing to recruit into their own trading system are the officials currently serving in the Ming Dynasty. To be more precise, they are officers with many special powers.
The conveniences of military officers in the smuggling trade are far beyond those of ordinary businessmen. Luo Shengdong and Xu Xinsu are two successful examples. In the early days of Haihan's salt trade, Luo Shengdong took advantage of his position and used warships in Yacheng Shuizhai to transport private salt to various prefectures and counties on Hainan Island for sale, allowing Haihan's private salt to be sold quickly in a short period of time. He occupied the local market, but the people in charge of the salt class had nothing to do with him. This military position played a key role.
Xu Xinsu, who was a maritime smuggler himself, used his military power to monopolize maritime trade in Fujian much better than Luo Shengdong. In the early days, almost all the goods sent by Haihan to Fujian were from various trading houses under Xu's name. Even in the Zhejiang area north of Fujian, the Haihan goods on the market come from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou in Fujian under the control of Xu Xinsu.
In view of the sweetness he had experienced in this regard in the past, after Haihan entered Zhejiang, he naturally used to win over Ming officers as one of the means to promote the trade system. Guanhaiwei and Changguowei in Ningbo Prefecture, which are closest to Zhoushan, have naturally become the focus of development. Yan Guowei, the commander of Changguowei, Huang Tao, the commander of Guanhaiwei, and the leaders of the Qianhu Station under their subordinates have all received more or less benefits from Haihan. Haihan has also been screening for suitable candidates for long-term support.
Although Yan Guowei and Huang Tao have more power in their hands, one is approaching the threshold of retirement and his time in the officialdom is running out, while the other is careless and pretends to be deaf after receiving the money without being deeply involved. Plans to enter Haihan trade. Among the various Qianhu institutes below, it seems that only the Shipu Institute Qianhu Ma Ling, which was the first and only one captured by Haihan, has potential worth cultivating.
Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen believe that Ma Ling showed a high degree of cooperation when Haihan attacked the Zhoushan Islands and fought against the local pirate gangs. Moreover, Ma Ling currently makes his home in Shipu, and Haihan can easily attack him. Take control. However, Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen had limited interest in wooing Ming officials to do errands for the Ministry of Commerce. Apart from mentioning the matter in their reports to the base camp, they did not take much follow-up action. Most of their energy was spent on studying the current situation and geography in the north, and Ma Ling was only summoned to Zhoushan every other month to inquire about the situation.
One of the reasons why Wang Tom and Hao Wanqing stayed in Shipu Port this time was to see the performance of Qianhu Ma Ling from Shipu Institute in person, and give him better development opportunities if he passed the interview. And Ma Ling's conversational performance during the short period of more than half a day of receiving them had obviously exceeded the passing mark in their minds. Both Wang Tom and Hao Wanqing thought that they could give this person a chance to see the effects.
Haihan snus is still a relatively new product in the Zhejiang market, and sales channels in many areas have not yet been launched. Wang Tom asked Ma Linglai to be responsible for the sales of snus in the area near Sanmen Bay, which was somewhat of a test for him. ability. If this person can seize the opportunity like Luo Shengdong and quickly open up the local market, then he can be given more responsibilities in the future. But if it is not useful, then just be an empty-paid soldier in Chang Guowei.
After staying in Shipu Suo for a day, the Haihan fleet decamped and headed north. Before leaving, Wang Tom left behind four exploration-class warships as the main armed force to guard the waters here. Of course, it is still difficult to rely on only four ships to protect the Shipu Waterway, which is dozens of miles deep and has many surrounding islands. Fortunately, the waters here have been repeatedly cleared many times, so there are no major security concerns. The purpose of staying here is more to monitor the movements of the Ming army in Sanmen Bay and its surrounding areas. Ma Ling's attitude was as respectful as ever, and he rushed to the dock early to see him off.
The voyage from Shipu Port to Zhoushan Dinghai Port is only about fifty or sixty nautical miles. If the Majesty-class warship is operating at the steam-powered speed, it will only take half a day to reach the destination. However, because the fleet was huge and there were many civilian ships following behind, Wang Tom did not order to speed up, and still maintained a speed of about five knots and slowly headed north. At noon, the fleet passed through the strait between Liuheng Island and Fodu Island. Chen Yixin promptly told Wang Tom and Hao Wanqing how the Haihan Army attacked the Haisha Gang on Liuheng Island last year. Although the two of them had read relevant reports before coming, the specific details were not as vivid and clear as Chen Yixin's explanation, and they both listened with interest at the moment.
After hearing this, Wang Tom sighed: "The people Xu Xinsu placed here played a big role in successfully capturing Liuheng Island."
Chen Yixin said: "I have to say that Xu Xinsu is really scheming. A few years ago, he had arranged for the Xu family's children to lurk in Zhejiang. Only two of them have shown up now, but secretly I don't know how many people have not shown up."< br>
When Wang Tom heard this, he turned to Hao Wanqing and said, "Minister Hao, we Haihan should have a lot of intelligence agents lurking here, right?"
Hao Wanqing shook his head and said: "Well...no comment."
Chen Yixin said: "We are all our own people now, and Minister Hao, you are still trying to make us feel mysterious!"
Hao Wanqing argued: "It's not that I'm trying to create a sense of mystery, but that the previous intelligence work in Zhejiang was arranged by Minister He. All I know is the general situation and the specific deployment of personnel. I have to wait until I hear the report in Zhoushan." Only then did I know.”
Wang Tom said: "I heard that the person in charge of intelligence work in Zhejiang is He Xi's general?"
"Gong Shiqi, the number one person under He Xi, was the former head of the Guangdong field team." Hao Wanqing had nothing to hide about this, and explained to the two of them: "Gong Shiqi has been with He Xi since he arrived at the Guangdong Office. Following him, there is no doubt about his loyalty and his ability. At least he has never failed in his mission in Guangdong. He Xi transferred him to Zhejiang to take charge of his duties, hoping to gradually train him."
Wang Tom smiled and said: "As a result, the Cheng Dapeng you trained in the south is now under the command of He Xi, and the Gong Shiqi brought out by He Xi has come to work under you? The personnel arrangement of your security department is quite interesting."
Cheng Dapeng was a security agent who was besieged with the Dutch in the Battle of Batavia in 1632. During that battle, he collected a large amount of first-hand information for Haihan, especially the Dutch and Madalan. Many of the information about the warring parties are gaps in the Haihan database that do not have detailed records. Haihan then exerted all kinds of pressure on the East India Company, relying on the information Cheng Dapeng sent back to Sanya, so that Haihan's senior officials clearly knew the predicament of the East India Company as a foreign power after the war, so that they could seize the opportunity and take targeted measures. They suppressed the Dutch permanently in exchange for Haihan's many interests in Taiwan and the South China Sea.
After that, Cheng Dapeng became the head of the Ministry of Security's agency in the South China Sea, and also played a certain role in promoting the East India Company to join the South China Sea Trade Alliance led by Haihan. His experience of sharing adversity with senior officials of the East India Company allowed him to make some suggestions to the Dutch without suspicion, such as wisely choosing to compromise with Haihan rather than being tough, so as to avoid the conflict between the two parties from intensifying and turning into another war. A devastating war.
The subsequent inspection of Hainan Island by Governor Van Diemen of the East India Company also fully proved that Cheng Dapeng's suggestion was correct. In terms of war potential, the East India Company was indeed unable to face off against Haihan, who had become a climate. Let Cheng Dapeng also gain more and more trust from the company's senior executives. Of course, if the Dutch knew his true identity, they would probably burn Cheng Dapeng and his grain store in Batavia to ashes, even if they risked a war with Haihan. .
Hao Wanqing has been based in Sanya for many years and is in charge of South China Sea intelligence affairs. Cheng Dapeng is undoubtedly one of the most valuable intelligence personnel under him. However, the high-level personnel of the Ministry of Security have made a large-scale personnel adjustment and transferred He Xi back to Sanya to take charge of South China Sea affairs. Hao Wanqing went north to take charge of affairs related to the Ming Dynasty. Except for a very small number of personal followers, the intelligence agencies in various places did not make corresponding personnel adjustments. Therefore, the capable officers of both sides were handed over to the other side. Although the high-level work handover was not complete during the period. has been completed, but it will inevitably require a short adaptation period to adjust existing institutions and work arrangements.
Hao Wanqing said that he did not know the Ministry of Security's deployment in Zhejiang, which was indeed not an excuse. Gong Shiqi has always been in charge of the work in Zhejiang. Although regular reports are sent back to Sanya, Hao Wanqing also knows that there must be many discrepancies between the reports and the actual situation, so many things will have to wait for him to witness with his own eyes in Zhejiang. Only then can we make judgments and decisions.
The huge fleet did not arrive at Zhoushan Dinghai Port until the evening of that day. In addition to the local military officers Qian Tiandun and Shi Diwen, there were also many naturalized cadres and people who came specially to greet Wang Tom and others at the pier. Some of the rich businessmen and dignitaries from the Ming Dynasty who came to join in the fun and became familiar with each other came by boat from Ningbo after receiving the news two days ago. The pomp to welcome the team was quite grand.
The relationship between Qian Tiandun and these people from the North American Gang was mostly colleagues, and the two sides only met for a polite exchange of greetings. However, Shi Diwen was much more excited when he saw his friends from the North American Gang, and immediately gave Tom Wang a Remember the bear hug. The last time the two met was more than a year ago. This reunion in a different place can be regarded as a reunion between brothers after a long separation.
(End of chapter)