Chapter 1258 Market Competition
Roger had already made plans to retaliate against Johor and the United Kingdom. The two families were eager to encourage Haihan to send troops at the moment, and their respective goals had long been obvious. Only Roger's words could calm their senseless behavior. dispute. So they both stopped and turned to look at Roger to hear what his plan was.
"Our country has always been very cautious about war and will not start a war easily. No matter who the opponent is, we will first consider the purpose of the war. The war with the United Kingdom and Johor is to prevent them from invading Star Island. Judging from the current results, It seems that we have successfully achieved the goal we wanted. Continuing to fight will not bring any actual benefits to our country, and it is far from enough to pay for the military expenses we have to pay for it. So..."
Roger paused for a moment, looked at the faces of the two people, and then continued: "... It is not cost-effective for our country to continue the war. We are prepared to reconcile with the other party. Of course, the premise is that they must admit their failure, and compensate our country for its losses during the war."
The two envoys were naturally disappointed after hearing this. The reason they came to Xingdao was not to hear that the war would end with peace talks. If Haihan did not continue to fight, they would have no reason to send troops to intervene. Their respective plans will also come to nothing.
But before they could raise objections, Roger announced something unacceptable to them: "In addition, after the peace talks with the British East India Company are concluded, our country may allow British merchant ships to dock at Haihan Port for trade, and accept Our country’s asylum. As a trading partner, I have the responsibility to inform you of this decision in advance, and I hope your country can provide understanding and support.”
"NO!" Ricardo and Philip immediately expressed their attitude to Roger in unison. For them, this is no longer a level of disappointment, but a situation that they must try their best to prevent. The British's open entry means that they will have a strong competitor from now on, and this opponent may also be protected by Haihan, making them more afraid of using force to solve it. This is simply It can be called bad news.
"Your country must be aware of the harm that this irresponsible approach will bring! The British are not good men and women. This can be seen from their despicable behavior of undeclared war. Please do not be Seduced by their sweet words, we must not let them in!" Philip, who had been busy making two trips to Star Island, immediately expressed his opposition. If Haihan colludes with the British on this matter, most of the work he has done previously will be in vain.
This time the Portuguese is also very rare to stand on the same front as their old rival: "The entry of the British will cause direct damage to our country's interests. As a traditional partner of Haihan, I hope to reconsider this decision. Don’t hurt the long-standing friendship between the two countries because of your impulse!”
"The matter is not as serious as you think." Roger had long expected that the attitude of these two families would be very fierce. He was not flustered by their protests and explained unhurriedly: "Even if we reach an agreement with the British, After the peace agreement is reached, strict restrictions will be placed on the entry of British ships for a long period of time to ensure that they do not disturb the existing tranquility of the region.”
"Your Excellency, with all due respect, the British are not qualified trading partners!" Ricardo emphasized again: "Their colonial business projects are mainly tobacco and cotton, but we can also provide these commodities to your country in sufficient quantities. ! ”
"But with one more supplier, the quality of the goods will be better guaranteed, right?" Roger immediately responded to Ricardo's question: "And as far as I know, the British wool industry is very developed. , the industrial center of the Europa continent should be in the UK.”
The center of Europe's wool industry has changed several times in history. In the 13th century, it was Flanders in Belgium, but this place itself did not produce wool. It only imported raw materials from Britain and Spain for production. By the 14th century, the industrial center of the wool industry had moved to Florence, Italy. However, due to the serious differentiation between rich and poor and class struggle that occurred during the rapid expansion of production, the public security situation became turbulent. By the 15th century , the industrial center moved to the UK.
Unlike Flanders and Florence, the British wool industry quickly moved to the countryside, and took advantage of the water conservancy advantages that the former did not have, introducing waterwheels into the processing process to replace manpower, thus greatly reducing production costs and improving production efficiency. greatly improved. From the 15th century until three hundred years later, the British wool industry had always been in a leading position in Europe.
After Haihan's colonies and controlled areas gradually extended northward, Haihan's demand for cotton and wool textiles also increased year by year. Due to the influence of successive years of turmoil in the north of the Ming Dynasty, the wool products Haihan could purchase from the Ming Dynasty were extremely limited, and The price is indeed high. Under the rule of Haihan, there was no suitable area to raise large quantities of sheep or goats, and its own production capacity could not keep up with the growth of demand, so the contradiction between supply and demand could only be solved through imports.
Both Portugal and the Netherlands can provide a certain amount of wool product resources, but they are not the countries of origin. The wool products sold to Haihan are also bought from the UK and then resold to Haihan to earn the price difference. There is nothing wrong with this business model, especially the Dutch, who are known as sea coachmen. They are engaged in the business of buying and selling, and they often make money from Haihan in this kind of transaction.
Although Heyhan’s reason for wanting to bring in the UK is not just wool products, it is indeed one of the reasons that prompted this decision. Haihan did not want the trade between the East and the West to be monopolized by Portugal and the Netherlands, so he wanted to expand the scope of trade objects to reduce the costs and risks of imported goods.
There are not many European countries entering the Far East. Spain was originally on the candidate list. The relationship between Haihan and Spain has never been reconciled. Although the war did not continue to break out later, this Liangzi will not change with the passage of time. As a matter of fact, Haihan was busy expanding his shipping routes and had no intention of crossing the border to cause trouble for the Spaniards. But both sides understand that there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and sooner or later there will still be a showdown. France, another European maritime power, expanded far less rapidly in the Far East than these competitors. Historically, the French only formally established the French East India Company in 1664, but its business nature was very different from that of other countries. The company's activities were supervised by an administrator appointed by the king, and its directors were all court favorites and dignitaries, not businessmen who held these positions. Even the company's operating funds are mostly contributed by the royal family, while the proportion of shares subscribed by businessmen is extremely limited. This kind of royal company suffered from many restrictions in its operations and was far less competitive than its peers. By the middle of the 18th century, its trade volume with India was only half of that of the British East India Company. Disappeared.
So the only choice left for Haihan was Britain. Since Britain was not officially establishing a stronghold, the Executive Committee originally planned to wait for a suitable opportunity before establishing diplomatic relations with Britain. However, it did not expect that the British would commit suicide and send Haihan to their doorstep, giving Haihan a huge advantage. Since he has the opportunity to take the absolute initiative in diplomatic negotiations, Haihan naturally wants to make full use of this opportunity.
The opposition of Portugal and the Netherlands was expected by Haihan. After all, after Britain entered this region, the interests of these two countries were affected the most. However, the Executive Committee and Roger had long expected that the opposition of the two countries would only remain verbal, because they could neither confront Haihan with force, nor completely break away from the region established and dominated by Haihan. trading system. If you want to fall out with Haihan, the losses caused will be far greater than the impact of Britain's entry.
It was precisely because of this that Roger graciously took them to see the results of the battle, and then informed Haihan of his basic attitude towards handling the matter. Their arrival can also be used to put more pressure on the British officer Hogg, forcing the other party to accept the "peace agreement" proposed by Roger.
Regarding Roger's response, Ricardo was a little unexpected. He did not expect that this Haihan officer also knew about the European wool industry. It would be too redundant to defend this at this time, so he could only change the topic. Said: "The various goods we provide Haihan are of the best grade in the European market. Of course, the prices cannot be compared with ordinary goods, but please do not question the trade relationship between us because of this. Besides, our country has never Many of the goods imported by the Ming Kingdom and Annan Kingdom are purchased through Haihan's trading company, which does not hinder our cooperation. ”
Although Ricardo's beautiful words were good, both sides knew very well that the reason why Portugal wanted to purchase through Haihan was simply that they could not bypass the mountain of Haihan. Haihan has a very large influence in the foreign trade system of Ming Dynasty and Annan. It can be said that it is not a monopoly but it is better than a monopoly. It can completely determine the local trade qualifications of foreign countries like Portugal. Even if Portugal knew that this trade method would result in a price difference for Haihan, in order to maintain the stability of trade relations, it could only accept this arrangement. Fortunately, the profits from Eastern goods shipped to Europe are quite generous. This purchase cost can be directly passed on to the final buyer, and the impact on Portugal, the middleman, is relatively limited.
But Haihan's current situation is different. The emergence of the British undoubtedly provides a new supply channel. If the two countries finally reach the agreement advocated by Roger, some goods produced in the UK will be delivered to Haihan at a lower transaction price. Although the shipping industries of Portugal and the Netherlands are developed, after all, they have no advantage in the price of these commodities, and they will have to hand over the related profits to others.
Roger continued: "I know you two are very wary of the British entry, but for us Haihan, this is just the introduction of a trading partner. There is no military alliance, no exclusive trade agreement, no such thing as you." Worry about security issues. The only thing that will change is that you may have an additional trade competitor in this region from now on, and this cooperation is currently just an idea, and specific negotiations may take a long time. Only then will there be results. I don’t think you two need to be too nervous.”
Roger's words of comfort did not have much effect, and Ricardo and Philip could not relax because of his words. But they also understood that it was extremely difficult to persuade Roger to give up this plan at the moment, and they could only find another way to solve it. They wanted to attack Tan Juren immediately, but they heard Tan Juren say lightly, "Roger's opinion is the main one on this matter." This was really beyond their control.
Tan Juren had communicated with Roger beforehand and knew about the plan he had discussed with the executive committee. In fact, Tan Juren does not agree with the peace negotiations with the United Kingdom. He believes that the existing measures have not really punished the British for their bold actions, and the so-called compensation and ransom may also be slow in future bilateral negotiations. Slowly being chopped off bit by bit by the opponent. Although the establishment of trade relations may really bring some benefits to Haihan, Tan Juren simply felt unhappy, and even preferred the opinions of the Portuguese and Dutch envoys, and continued to pursue the invaders, even if the British could not be suppressed for the time being. We must at least make it clear that we will continue to carry out military attacks on our strongholds on the Indian peninsula.
However, Roger believed that his view was not objective enough and analyzed the causes. He believes that Tan Juren's subconscious still regards Britain as the initiator of the war in the time and space before the time travel, and he has a hatred for it beyond reason. But in today's time and space, Haihan has just come into contact with the opponent. Although the two sides have a record of fighting, Haihan not only did not suffer a loss, but also took the initiative through the war. We should make full use of this favorable situation to gain more The benefits are the right amount, rather than just killing and killing. By then, the fight with the British will never end, and the applause must be from Portugal and the Netherlands, who are afraid of chaos in the world.
Although Tan Juren agreed with Roger's analysis, he still felt that he could not overcome this ideological hurdle. In the end, Roger had to give him a very targeted dose of strong medicine: "I know you want to exact revenge on the British, but think about it, we have dealt a heavy blow to them through the war, and the next step is To force them to pay reparations and sign unequal treaties is not to impose retaliation in reverse according to the historical process as you know it?”
Tan Juren thought that although this was unreasonable, he felt much better psychologically, and finally accepted Roger's arrangement.
(End of chapter)