Chapter 1152 Northern Commercial Route
The meeting between Wang Tom and Shen Shikui lasted for more than an hour. During this period, with Shen Shikui's consent, Haihan sent several more cooks to the island, laid out various household items, and cooked a lunch for the two of them. . Another soldier specially carried an Eight Immortals table to the island and prepared a banquet in a serious manner. The two parties had had a pleasant conversation earlier, and Shen Shikui didn't doubt his presence, and even asked Shen Zhixiang to join him.
Of course, you can’t have a meal without wine. What Wang Tom brought was the aged Nuerhong produced in Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang. Although the alcohol content of the rice wine is not high, it is really strong. After a few glasses of wine, the atmosphere at the dinner gradually warmed up. Get online.
"I usually eat these seafood in Pi Dao, but there are not so many ways to prepare the dishes." Shen Shikui praised the cooking skills of Wang Tom's chef while eating.
Although he is the commander-in-chief of Dongjiang Town and has the same status as a local emperor on this island, due to the extreme lack of materials on the island, the actual living conditions are actually very difficult, and the meat he can eat basically comes from the sea. However, the only seasonings on this island are free sea salt, and even oil, soy sauce and vinegar are in short supply, not to mention the various spices commonly used in Haihan's cooking, so naturally they can't produce any special taste.
Wang Tom smiled and said: "Now the sea route from Dongjiang Town to Zhejiang is open. In the future, various southern products will be transported to the north one after another. There will be many good things that Mr. Shen can enjoy in the future. Besides, Liaodong is rich in products. Mr. Shen has also done business before. If maritime trade is resumed in the north, the living standards of the soldiers and civilians in Dongjiang Town will definitely improve a lot compared to now.”
Shen Shikui said: "I heard that Haihan is good at navigation and trade. Today, it turns out that it is well-deserved! You must have already planned to control the maritime trade routes in the Bohai and Yellow Sea before entering Dengzhou, right?" br>
Shen Shikui had lived in the north for a long time. Even if he had not had much dealings with Haihan before, he could tell from the two locations he chose to stay on the northern coast that Haihan had a big plan. The line connecting Zhifu Island on the north coast of Dengzhou and Lushunkou on the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula happened to be at the junction of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. He would definitely not believe it was a coincidence. The only reasonable explanation is that the Haihan people had planned this layout a long time ago, and their purpose was to control the navigation rights of this sea area and then control the maritime trade in the surrounding coastal areas.
Shen Shikui still has a say in how lucrative maritime trade can be. Part of the reason why he abandoned business and joined the army was that he was married to Mao Wenlong, so it was not difficult to obtain an official status; the other main reason was that he wanted to use his military status as a cover to engage in transnational maritime smuggling trade in the Bohai and Yellow Seas. The warships in Dongjiang Town can travel smoothly between Liaodong, North Korea and the Ming Dynasty without having to pay commercial taxes to any party, and the profits are still considerable. Before Kong Youde defected to Liaodong, even some tribes under the control of Hou Jin were also the objects of smuggling trade in Dongjiang Town. Various animal skins and medicinal materials produced in the mountains of Liaodong were in high demand in the Ming Dynasty and could be sold at good prices. goods.
For a long period of time, Dongjiang Town, which did not receive much support from the Ming Dynasty, could only rely on smuggling trade as an important part of its fiscal revenue. Shen Shikui, who was responsible for operating these projects, gradually entered Dongjiang Town. Among the top officials of the town. He is much more sensitive than Shen Zhixiang to the competitive pressure brought about by the emergence of Haihan people. At the same time, he is also more worried about whether the future situation will be competition within the existing business scope, or whether the two companies will cooperate to expand the business.
Wang Tom understood Shen Shikui's implication and immediately responded: "Don't worry, Mr. Shen, we have always emphasized that everyone makes a fortune together and do not have the habit of eating alone. Since it is clearly stated that it is cooperation, we will share the division of labor and rights with you one by one. Explain clearly. Which local products will be purchased from you and which southern goods will be sold locally. These conditions can be negotiated slowly. If Dongjiang Town plans to send its own fleet south, we can also provide navigation and escort along the way. Organize procurement at the place of production. If Mr. Shen still feels uneasy, you can send someone to go south with our fleet to the coastal prefectures of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fuguang to inquire about our business reputation.”
After all, Shen Shikui is an old man. Although Wang Tom's bowl of ecstasy soup has a good recipe, he did not lose his mind because of it. Wang Tom said a lot of beautiful words, but he did not deny Shen Shikui's question just now. This was equivalent to acquiescing to his guess that Haihan indeed planned to control the maritime trade routes in the Yellow and Bohai Sea areas by force, and use In this way, you can gain huge trade profits in the long term. Of course, there is still room in Wang Tom's words, which means that as long as Dongjiang Town is willing to cooperate, it can continue to do business within the trading system controlled by Haihan, and even expand the scope of trade to the far south.
A few years ago, Shen Shikui would have scorned Wang Tom's proposal. Overseas barbarians would dare to point fingers at the Ming Dynasty's officers and soldiers. They were simply lawless. Dongjiang Town had not even surrendered to such a powerful enemy as Hou Jin. How could he bow his head in front of a group of outsiders? But today is different from the past. Dongjiang Town has become so weak that it cannot even protect itself. Without Haihan's help, Shen Shikui will probably have to make a difficult decision this winter to obtain survival resources, or directly invade North Korea. Rob, otherwise we have to surrender to Hou Jin. For Shen Shikui, these two choices were contrary to the concept of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism that he had always adhered to.
The intentions of the Haihan people are indeed not too friendly to Ming Dynasty, but at least their interests are currently consistent with Ming Dynasty. Although cooperation with them may cause Ming Dynasty to lose control of this sea area, at least they have created more Dongjiang out of thin air. The town has the opportunity to regroup and regain the territory of Liaodong. Of course, having said that, now that the Dengzhou Navy and Dongjiang Town Navy have been exhausted, talking about sea control is empty talk. In this sea area, the strongest maritime armed force is undoubtedly the Navy. Han fleet.
There is no need for Wang Tom to explain this. Shen Shikui can now confirm it with the naked eye - on the sea about two miles away from the desert island, the warships of the Haihan Fleet are stationed there silently, with densely packed sails and huge ships. The body has fully demonstrated the terrifying combat effectiveness of this fleet. He had previously heard Pan Yan say how unreasonable the Haihan fleet's combat methods were, but he could only have such a real feeling after seeing the true face of this fleet with his own eyes.
After Shen Zhixiang returned from an inspection trip to Zhifu Island, he once told him that the Haihan people had controlled most of the sea areas south of the Yangtze River Estuary. After Shen Shikui saw the fleet in front of him, he realized that this kind of thing was really not just a rumor. If If the Haihan people have a few more fleets like this, they can indeed control a considerable area of sea.
As a general of the Ming Dynasty guarding the border, it stands to reason that even if he does not resort to force to expel ambitious outsiders like Hai Han, he must be careful and vigilant. However, the current situation in Dongjiang Town must rely on Hai Han's help. To make a comeback, Shen Shikui knew this very well, so even if he was not able to accept the ambitions of the Haihan people, he could only pinch his nose and acquiesce to this arrangement.
"That being the case, I have to thank you for taking care of me from now on!" Shen Shikui put down his chopsticks and raised his wine glass, and said in a sincere tone: "Today, Dongjiang Town and Haihan Kingdom formed an alliance on Pi Island to conspire for great things!" Wang Tom He clinked glasses with Shen Shikui with a smile and said, "I wish us a happy cooperation!"
All the work that should be done in the early stage was basically done. This time when he came to Pi Island to meet with Shen Shikui, Wang Tom expected to win him. Although Shen Shikui must still have doubts about the prospects of cooperation between the two parties, in time after he has tasted the benefits of this cooperation, Wang Tom believes that Dongjiang Town will slowly become like the Ming army troops in the south who cooperated with Haihan. He changed his position and became a vassal of Haihan due to the trend of interest relations.
In the next day, several Haihan sailboats docked at the pier on the coast of Phi Island, and the island residents unloaded the food and various daily necessities on board to the shore. These genuine aids also made the local people appreciate this sailboat. The fleet with the red and blue flags was slightly less wary. Although Haihan had delivered assistance here by sea before, the cargo fleet at that time did not have so many large warships accompanying it. After the news that these Haihan warships would become Dongjiang Town's military allies spread on the island, the pessimistic and desperate atmosphere that had previously pervaded Pi Island also improved significantly.
Before the arrival of the Haihan people, Shen Shikui announced that he would send thousands of people to return to the Changshan Islands to settle in the near future. However, the soldiers and civilians on the island were not optimistic about this arrangement because Shang Kexi, who originally guarded the area, defected to Liaodong and surrendered last year. Hou Jin, no one can tell when he will return to the Changshan Islands with the official title of Hou Jin. However, the arrival of the Haihan people added a layer of insurance to this plan. This fleet was obviously much more reliable than the shabby wooden ships that Shang Kexi took away.
Of course, if people like Pi Dao learned that the Haihan Fleet would leave after sending them to the Changshan Islands, instead of staying there to protect them, they might not feel so relaxed. At least during this winter, the residents of the Changshan Islands still need to organize their own defenses. Considering that the current combat capability of Dongjiang Town is very low, in addition to the most basic defensive measures, all they can do is to pray that Hou Jin will not be so desperate and organize a cross-sea expedition in the cold winter.
In the next two days, the island began to organize manpower to go to Changshan Islands. Dongjiang Town believes that it is necessary to transport about 5,000 people to the local area to ensure that there is enough labor to rebuild the life and military facilities on the island, and to quickly organize spring plowing after the beginning of spring. However, even if all the ships in Pi Island are dispatched, plus the existing transportation capacity of the Haihan fleet, it is impossible to deliver so many people to the local area at once. After calculation, it would take at least three trips to complete this somewhat arduous task, but Wang Tom did not want to waste too much time on such an unskilled task. He hoped to free up time to go to the Liaodong Peninsula. Let’s take another trip to Jinzhou Bay and Lushunkou on the east coast to see if there are any new changes in Hou Jin’s local maritime military deployment.
After negotiation between the two parties, it was decided that the Haihan Fleet would help with the first transportation, and then Dongjiang Town would complete the subsequent transportation on its own. Fortunately, the two places are not too far apart, and a round trip only takes more than two hundred nautical miles. With the current speed of the sailboats in Dongjiang Town, it can be done in about three days. In this way, even if it is the ant moving method, half a month is enough to transport people.
The person who got the task of guarding the Changshan Islands was naturally Shen Shikui's nephew Shen Zhixiang. Shen Shikui had no children, so he always treated Shen Zhixiang as his son. Given the opportunity to cultivate his children, he naturally did not shy away from relatives and let Shen Zhixiang take the job. Although the Haihan people have also made it clear that they will not launch military operations on the Liaodong Peninsula until spring, the troops stationed in the Changshan Islands closest to the Liaodong Peninsula will definitely be cooperating with their actions. If nothing else, Shen Zhixiang can easily follow them. A military merit is in hand.
Shen Zhixiang was already familiar with Wang Tom and others when he went to Zhifu Island for inspection a few days ago. This time, the fleets of both parties set off from Pi Island together. He also boarded the flagship of the Haihan fleet directly without any hesitation and met with Wang Tom. Departed on the same boat.
"This time we were able to successfully negotiate with Mr. Shen, thanks to the efforts of General Shen. Come and bring the things up." Wang Tom received Shen Zhixiang in the captain's cabin, and then ordered someone to carry a box: " Thank you, General Shen. ”
The box contains white silver ingots, twenty-two ingots, a total of fifty ingots. After seeing it, Shen Zhixiang closed the lid of the box and said with a smile: "General Wang is so polite. This is part of my job, why bother giving these vulgar things!"
Wang Tom said: "These are just small amounts of money. As long as General Xiao Shen cooperates with us, prosperity and wealth will definitely not be a problem in the future. We can give you things that Ming Dynasty cannot give you."
Shen Zhixiang pretended to refuse and said: "Isn't this not good? I am also a general of the Ming army. How can I do anything to disgrace the court?"
Wang Tom said: "I don't want you to betray the Ming Dynasty, I just hope you can do more things for us. If we gain a foothold in Liaodong, it will only benefit the Ming Dynasty without any harm. The same is true for you. You If you want military merit, there will be many Houjin heads for you to receive the merit from now on. If you want to make a fortune, we will also pave the way for you to become the richest man in the army in Dongjiang Town. Our strength and sincerity have been fully demonstrated. "General Xiao Shen, whether you want to take this Yangguan Avenue depends on your own choice."
(End of chapter)