Chapter 1627 Since 1627
In fact, in addition to Fei Cexian, the Ming Dynasty diplomatic team that sent Haihan as envoy also included senior military attaches. However, when Haihan arranged to visit the arsenal, they had already excluded the Ming military attachés. There was no other reason. After all, they were laymen. It's always easier to deal with than an expert.
This is the current situation. Although Fei Cexian is very curious and understands the importance of collecting information about Haihan's military industry, he is a civilian and knows very little about the military. Even if the Ministry of War sent someone to give him some military knowledge before setting off, it was just a temporary basis and he only learned a little bit about it. For truly professional things, such as weapon principles and manufacturing processes, a layman like him would be completely blind.
That's why Bai Kesi boldly took Fei Cexian to visit Tian Du's arsenal. Even if he could see the entire production process, there was no need to worry that he could bring out the real core technical key here. Seeing the manufacturing and assembly process of these weapons with one's own eyes has a great visual impact on laymen, as can be seen from Fei Cexian's urgency in asking for additional orders.
Fei Cexian actually wanted to see the place where Haihan's own weapons were made, but since the other party didn't mention this arrangement, he wouldn't be so ignorant as to find a nail by himself. And the most terrible thing is that he has realized his shortcoming, that is, he cannot understand the manufacturing and assembly process of these weapons. However, one has to blame the Ministry of War for not thinking carefully about this matter, because no one could have imagined that Haihan would so brazenly arrange for Fei Cexian to visit their secret arsenal. Otherwise, if you catch up on relevant knowledge in advance, you won't be in a hurry here.
"It's only when the books are put to use that I miss them!" Fei Cexian couldn't help lamenting his lack of knowledge, but then he thought that the books he had read in the past were all collections of classics and history, and there was no content about making weapons. He was even more frustrated at the moment.
It's just that he has to bury this emotion deeply in his heart and not let Bai Kesi see the clues. All the high-ranking officials of Haihan are talented people. If they accidentally expose their flaws, they may be taken advantage of by the other party. But Fei Cexian didn't know that all his ideas were part of Haihan's calculations. Bai Kesi arranged for him to visit the arsenal, just to deceive him about his lack of professional knowledge, and it was in vain.
"The rifles we sell to Daming are all made with precision. A gun goes through more than fifty processes before leaving the factory. After leaving the factory, it will also be delivered to the army for live-fire testing to ensure that every rifle purchased by Daming is It's worth the money." Seeing that Fei Cexian couldn't ask any decent questions, Bai Kesi took the initiative to introduce the production situation.
The weapons sold to the Ming Dynasty in accordance with the Liaodong Agreement were actually quite expensive. They were much higher than those of the Annan and Fujian militaries, and were almost the same as those purchased by the likes of Holland and Madalan. However, even if Ming knew that he was being ripped off, he could only admit it. After all, except for Haihan, there was no other company that could supply large quantities of guns and weapons to Ming like this. However, adhering to the principles of doing business, Baikes naturally wanted to brag about himself so that customers would feel that paying the high price was worth it.
"I don't think Mr. Fei is very interested in the arsenal. Why don't you go see something else?" Seeing that Fei Cexian's reaction was still dull, Bai Kesi took the initiative to ask for his opinion. Tiandu Industrial Zone covers an area of several square kilometers. Of course, there are more than just these industries. Various industrial products have specific production sites. If you really want to take a quick look at it, you will not be able to finish it in a day or two.
Of course, Fei Cexian was not uninterested, but he just couldn't understand. Moreover, he had already understood Haihan's purpose of arranging the visit to the arsenal, which was to further sell arms to Ming Dynasty. It's just that the Ming Dynasty's finances are tight, and it can't buy too many arms that are priced at sky-high prices by Haihan officials. Moreover, the financial authority obtained by Fei Cexian does not include Haihan's substantial price increases in the arms trade, and he does not Dare to make this decision on behalf of the imperial court. He estimated that even if the Minister of War and the Minister of Hubu came in person, they would not suffer this obvious loss.
But by doing so hastily, Fei Cexian felt that this rare opportunity to visit was wasted. You must know that in the past few years, dozens of spies from Jinyiwei and Dongchang have disappeared while trying to approach Tiandu Arsenal, and the situation here has always been a mystery to Daming. Now it is not easy to visit this place. Fei Cexian really didn't want to let go of the opportunity.
"Of course there is interest, but I have been thinking about the increase in price for weapons that Master Bai just proposed. Is there no room for maneuver?" In desperation, Fei Cexian had to suppress a topic related to weapons. But as soon as he said the words, he couldn't help but regret it. Didn't this tell the other party clearly that he actually wanted to buy weapons, and immediately gave up the initiative?
Sure enough, Bai Kesi is so old-fashioned. When he heard Fei Cexian's words, he showed timidity and understood what he was thinking. Bai Kesi laughed and said: "It's not that we can't talk about it...but the concession cannot be a unilateral concession, otherwise it will be unfair. If your country wants to save some money on arms purchases, it must also spend some money." It only requires a little bit of sincerity.”
Fei Cexian asked: "What are the conditions for sincerity?"
Bai Kesi responded without hesitation: "Acknowledge that all the land currently subject to sovereignty disputes belongs to Haihan, then I can make the decision immediately and supply your country with a batch of arms at the original price that is no less than the arms purchase order in the Liaodong Agreement."
In the Liaodong Agreement, Mei Shengchuan, the Minister of War who represented the Ming Dynasty, did not dare to agree to the conditions proposed by Haihan. However, both parties jointly stated that they would shelve the disputed areas and wait until the time is ripe to resolve the sovereignty issue. At this time, Bai Kesi brought up the old matter again. How could Fei Cexian dare to agree to this condition? It was just an offshore island. Could it be that a place like the Liaodong Peninsula was only temporarily occupied by the Haihan Army, so he had to give it up? For such a big matter, the court had been discussing it for many days with no result. How could Fei Cexian dare to make his own decision?
"This condition has also been discussed in Liaodong. Your country is really too hard on others." Fei Cexian is asking for help now, and he doesn't want to say too harshly. He can only express his feelings in a tactful way. dissatisfied.
Bai Kesi smiled and said: "There is actually no compulsion. We just hope that your country can recognize the established facts. To be honest, Mr. Fei thinks that the Ming Dynasty can take back control of the areas currently controlled by our country?" Fei Ze Xian Zhengse said: "It's hard to say. Thirty years in Hedong and thirty years in Hexi. Just because your country is in power now does not mean that it will be so prosperous in ten, twenty or thirty years. I, the Ming Dynasty, have ruled the world for more than two hundred years. During this time, There were many times when foreign enemies invaded and it was difficult to resist, but didn’t they survive it one by one? If Lord Bai wants to use force to suppress others, he would be looking down on me, Da Ming.”
Bai Kesi nodded and said: "What Mr. Fei said makes sense, but I still want to say that from the day we set foot on Hainan Island, the only people who can influence the development direction of the world are our group of people and the organizations established by us. Haihan Kingdom. We don’t mean to look down on Ming Dynasty, but with all due respect, we don’t regard Ming Dynasty as an opponent either.”
Bai Kesi's tone was calm, but his words were so sharp that Fei Cexian didn't know how to respond. Guo Zuo, who had lived in the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years, turned his back on him as nothing and was not even qualified to be an opponent. He didn't know whether to accuse the other party of being arrogant or to just walk away.
But Bai Kesi is so confident, and there is a reason for it. They had already made up their mind before they traveled through time and space. After arriving in this time and space, they would not settle in a corner and be content with the status quo. Instead, they would establish a national government and then change the development process of the entire world history. Only in this way would it be worthwhile. They gave up their previous lives and came to this strange environment to start from scratch.
This is exactly the current situation. Since the successful time travel in 1627, the time travelers have been trying to make their groups and countries stronger all the time. Although some travelers may have slowly given up their superfluous ambitions and begun to huddle somewhere and enjoy the life of rich people, these people who maintain the operation of this country have never given up on their original goals, and with the development of Haihan Kingdom As it grows stronger, its goal becomes clearer and clearer, which is to change the world bit by bit, starting from the areas controlled by Haihan.
For Haihan, this is not just a matter of using force to expand and occupy more land. If we just want to siege cities and plunder territory, with Haihan's current military strength, taking over the coastal areas of Fuzhou and Guangzhou is not a big problem. But the problem that really bothers Haihan's rulers is that there are not enough bureaucrats to digest it. Such a large occupied area. The Executive Committee can only take advantage of Haihan's actual situation and take advantage of its scientific and technological advantages in military, navigation and other aspects to first control some choke points in the Far East, especially key locations in the coastal areas of the mainland.
To change the world, Haihan chose to start by controlling sea lanes. Although it took nearly ten years to control the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, this speed was actually not too slow. Controlling the Ming Dynasty's access to the sea has an obvious accelerating effect on the development of Haihan. Manpower, raw materials, and capital have been continuously injected into Haihan from the Ming Dynasty in recent years. Even inland areas far away from the coastline have been Some merchants from Shanxi and Shanxi are trying to inject funds into Haihan to operate projects through banks and other channels.
From sea to land, this development strategy is a long-term policy set by the Executive Committee many years ago, and it is now entering the period of effectiveness. Today's Haihan indeed has the confidence to stand on a higher step and look down at the Ming Dynasty. Although Bai Kesi's words are a bit exaggerated, they also reflect the current relationship between the two countries to a certain extent. Haihan is obviously in an active and strong position, while Ming is relatively passive. On the one hand, almost all coastal areas have been established by Haihan. The strongholds and colonies, on the other hand, were forced by internal and external troubles and were now seeking help from Haihan, and were unable to settle territorial disputes with Haihan.
Of course, the most difficult thing is for diplomats like Fei Cexian who have to deal directly with Haihan. From the standpoint of Ming Dynasty, he should indeed fight back against Bai Kesi's nonsense, but today's Ming Dynasty cannot give him enough confidence. It is easy to say a few words for the occasion, but the serious consequences that may occur afterwards make him He held back the words that came to his lips.
Things have become very clear. If you want to win immediate benefits for Ming Dynasty, you must give up some long-term benefits in exchange for Haihan's help. Of course this can be regarded as a threat, and Fei Cexian also has the power to refuse on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, but when he thinks of the double arms order he can get in exchange, he is really unwilling.
Seeing that Fei Cexian's face was uncertain, Bai Kesi knew that this person was in the middle of an inner conflict, so he took the initiative and said: "Master Fei, if you can't decide for a while, don't worry, you can think about it slowly and think clearly. Come talk to us again. As long as Ming Dynasty is willing to make concessions on the territorial issue, then the purchase of weapons and equipment will be easy to discuss.”
Bai Kesi seemed to have given Fei Cexian more time to consider, but in fact he was retreating in order to make progress. If Fei Cexian did not refuse at this time, he would continue to be troubled by this problem later. And when future negotiations begin, he will find that any differences between the two parties may ultimately come down to territorial disputes. Haihan will have many ways to manipulate Ming, and the purpose is to make Ming finally compromise on territorial issues. .
Of course, it is not up to Fei Cexian to decide whether he will compromise with Haihan in the end. He is just a permanent envoy to Haihan on behalf of the Ming Dynasty, not a cabinet bachelor who can make decisions on national affairs. The most he could do was to write Haihan's official opinions into a memorial and send it back to the capital, waiting for the emperor and the cabinet to make a decision.
Bai Kesi also knew this very well, so he didn't want to get a result from Fei Cexian. He just wanted to use every opportunity to put pressure on the other party, so that Fei Cexian would also report this to the capital. The pressure spread to the Ming Dynasty, forcing those big shots to make decisions more beneficial to Haihan.
The tour of gun manufacturing ended hastily. After enduring repeated blows, Fei Cexian was actually not in the mood to watch the production process of these weapons. But when Bai Kesi offered to visit the steam engine manufacturing plant, Fei Cexian cheered up again.
Regarding the existence of steam engines, there are various versions of rumors in Ming Dynasty, both official and private. But after Fei Cexian personally saw a train driven by steam power, he realized that various versions of the rumors were full of lies. Haihan people advertise the steam engine as a symbol of "industrial society", and industry is a symbol of Haihan's advanced productivity. For Fei Cexian, the existence of this kind of steel machinery is probably the secret weapon that makes Haihan so powerful.
(End of chapter)