Chapter 1722 Old and New Backstage
Qin Huacheng was still a little surprised by the task that Cheng Dapeng suddenly assigned to him. He did not think that he was a qualified intelligence officer. The professional training he received after arriving in Batavia had just begun, and now he was suddenly assigned to perform the task of delivering important information, which made him excited but also a little nervous.
"You don't need to be too nervous. If you do well, you will pass the review in advance after completing this appointment." As if he had read Qin Huacheng's mind, Cheng Dapeng took the initiative to offer him benefits and comforted him: "Wait until your position is regularized. , there won’t be so many restrictions during the operation.”
Qin Huacheng, who is in the training and internship period, can roughly understand what a regular position means. As for what the criteria for becoming a regular employee is and what the treatment will be after becoming a regular employee, it is probably Cheng Dapeng's personal opinion that dominates. But no matter what, Qin Huacheng's current goal is to obtain a formal employee status in this intelligence agency as soon as possible. Naturally, he will not miss this opportunity offered by Cheng Dapeng.
The next day, Cheng Dapeng indeed called Qin Huacheng to serve as his entourage and went to visit Welbeck. When the other party saw Cheng Dapeng visiting in person, his attitude was much more polite than when he was dealing with Qin Huacheng the day before yesterday. He even asked his servant to make a pot of hot tea and bring it to him, which was considered as special respect for Cheng Dapeng's Han identity.
"There are no outsiders here, so I'll tell you the truth." Cheng Dapeng said straight to the point: "Why do you need to adjust the food procurement measures this year? Is there any trouble on your side?"
"It's a big trouble." Seeing that Cheng Dapeng did not send Qin Huacheng away, Welbeck asked him to stand aside and listen. After a little hesitation, he frankly informed his situation: "The Batavia Council plans to replace me." By the way, we will revise the food procurement plan for the past few years.”
"Why is this happening? What does the council want? Or have you offended someone?" Cheng Dapeng continued to ask him questions without changing his expression.
"The news just reached the local area five days ago that Mr. Roy Barnett passed away in Amsterdam last autumn. At this time, the Barnett family is quarreling over his inheritance rights and the division of his estate. At this time, no one can They can take care of my foreign relatives in the Far East, so some people in the council want to take this opportunity to seize the power of food procurement. After all, this is a stable and generous income, isn't it?" Welbeck shrugged helplessly.
The deceased Mr. Barnett mentioned by Welbeck was one of the seventeen major shareholders of the Dutch East India Company. He was able to serve as an official in charge of agriculture and grain procurement in Batavia partly because of He was distantly related to Mr. Barnett. In the past, those who wanted to take Welbeck's position would inevitably beat the dog to see the owner. They had to first consider whether they could afford to offend the great man behind him.
However, what is embarrassing now is that this protective umbrella fell silently. It took several months for the news to reach Batavia by sea, but the reaction here was not to hold a symbolic ceremony for this respected gentleman. Instead, he immediately focused on Welbeck, Barnett's spokesman in the Far East. He had held the position of the well-oiled agricultural official for several years, and it was time for someone else to take the seat. Even if he cannot be removed from this position, at least the lucrative grain procurement plan must be changed in a different way, so that only a few people can benefit from it every year.
Regarding Welbeck's backstage in the East India Company, Cheng Dapeng naturally knew about it since he had known him for several years. This situation is consistent with his previous speculation. Sure enough, there has been a change of power among the top leaders of the East India Company, which has affected the stability of Welbeck's position. But no matter how rich Cheng Dapeng was, he was still an outsider to the East India Company, and it was impossible for him to have a place in the Batavia Council. This matter was not something that could be intervened just because it wanted to.
"Boss Cheng, if you still want to control Batavia's grain market in the future, you cannot lose this battle." Seeing that Cheng Dapeng did not express his position immediately, Welbeck quickly continued to persuade: "If you let them succeed, When you drive me away, you will also be pushed aside.”
Cheng Dapeng smiled and said: "It's not easy to get me to stand aside. Mr. Welbeck, why don't you tell me first what the East India Company plans to do next? How can I help keep you?"
Seeing that Cheng Dapeng was planning to take action, Welbeck showed a hint of joy on his face and said quickly: "There is only one person who was pushed out to grab this seat. As long as he is dealt with, the matter will be settled..."
The man Welbeck was talking about was named Jean, and he was actually a person who had been recruited into the East India Company by relying on his backers. Gene currently holds a sinecure position in Batavia, and his job is almost unprofitable, so when he had the opportunity to take over the fat job of Welbeck, Gene was very active. In just a few days, he Reports have been submitted to the council twice and three times, requesting changes to the existing grain purchase program in order to save the company's large amount of money spent on this project every year.
Jean's reasons seem to be quite sufficient. After all, everyone sees the process of the East India Company purchasing grain from the market every year, and they also understand that officials like Welbeck will receive a considerable amount of money in the transaction process, but Because the backers behind it are difficult to offend, people who are not involved can only pretend not to know. Now that someone has taken the initiative to dig out the gray income of relevant officials, a group of people who are not too concerned about the fuss have naturally joined the onlookers, putting heavy pressure on Welbeck.
Nowadays, more and more people in the East India Company are staring at Welbeck, so that he does not dare to be as casual as before. When he met with Qin Huacheng yesterday, he did not dare to make it clear, but hinted that Qin Huacheng would go back and inform Cheng. Big friends. Fortunately, Qin Huacheng's understanding was correct and he accurately passed the information to Cheng Dapeng, so Cheng Dapeng took the initiative to come here to meet him today.
After listening to Welbeck's explanation, Cheng Dapeng just shook his head slightly and said: "The person you are talking about is an official of the East India Company, not just any unknown person. If you want to deal with him, it is not that simple. "
Vic Baker said: "Boss Cheng, I know you are an energetic person. As long as you are willing to take action, there is the possibility of changing the direction of many things. And this matter is also related to your vital interests. I miss you." There is no reason to continue to stand by and watch.”
Cheng Dapeng still shook his head and rejected his proposal: "I am just an ordinary businessman who abides by the law. I don't understand what you mean, and I have no intention of going against the Batavia Council."
Welbeck said anxiously: "Boss Cheng, this is about the future of the local grain market. Do you really want to sit back and watch others take away what belongs to you? When that Gene takes my position, do you want to take control again?" The local grain market is not that easy." Cheng Dapeng was not affected by him and responded calmly: "Mr. Welbeck, I just want to know some definite information instead of going around in circles. . If you just want to kill your competitors, then I suggest you go directly to the black market and hire a few skilled assassins. If you need my help, then please tell me everything you know, and don’t miss anything. .”
This was not the first day that Cheng Dapeng had dealt with Welbeck. His intuition told him that what the Dutchman said was still not entirely true and that there was something deliberately concealed. Cheng Dapeng was not someone who could be easily moved. The more he listened, the more doubtful he became, so he naturally refused to agree to Welbeck's request.
Welbeck's face became more and more gloomy and ugly. Qin Huacheng, who was standing next to him, felt that this guy would stand up and explode in the next second. After all, Cheng Dapeng's attitude did not save him any face at all, but kept hitting him.
Welbeck leaned against the seat and remained silent for a long time. Cheng Dapeng just looked at him without saying a word and did not speak to urge him. The silence in the room lasted for a long time. When Qin Huacheng almost lost his patience, Welbeck finally spoke again.
"Okay, you're right. Since I need your help now, I should be more frank." In the end, Welbeck expressed his resignation: "But please remember, we have common interests. You can help me." I am just helping myself.”
"You don't need to explain this. I understand it naturally." Cheng Dapeng nodded and said, "Let's get down to business. What exactly is the council going to do?"
"The council is not only preparing to change the way of grain procurement, but also intends to gradually suppress the share of Dacheng Rice Bank in the Batavia grain market." After Welbeck put down the burden, he said astonishingly: "Boss Cheng, they I’m becoming more and more worried about you!”
Welbeck claimed that the Batavia Council had already criticized the Dacheng Rice Company for its long-term control of the local grain market. On the one hand, the East India Company would inevitably encounter price disadvantages when purchasing grain from the market every year. The Dacheng Rice Company was in the local market. The monopoly operation makes it impossible for the Dutch to bargain if they want to. They can only wash their necks and wait to be slaughtered.
On the other hand, the council believes that relying on one grain merchant to provide more than half of the grain on the market for a long time is also a big hidden danger to local security. Although Cheng Dapeng had shared the difficulties with the East India Company during the Batavia War in 1632, this did not mean that the Dutch had completely trusted him.
Since Cheng Dapeng's transnational business had contacts with countries such as Ming Dynasty, Haihan, Annam, Johor, Champa, etc., and even had unclear contacts with countries such as Portugal, Spain, and Matalan, the council believed that it could not All important resources for maintaining local social stability will be placed in the hands of his family. Jean's proposal to the council this time clearly stated that he would increase the scale of the East India Company's own food crop planting, and support small and medium-sized farmers in growing food through long-term purchase contracts with favorable conditions, so that they could gradually get rid of the control of Dacheng Rice Bank. , directly providing the East India Company with cheaper grain than now.
Of course, these methods may not be effective quickly. After all, Cheng Dapeng has been working hard to monopolize the local grain market in recent years. He still has many countermeasures to these unexpected methods, and Dong Indian companies will still have to rely on Dacheng Rice Bank for part of their food supplies for the foreseeable period. But as soon as the momentum of this change picks up, the East India Company will take advantage of its position as ruler to slowly squeeze out the market share of Dacheng Rice Company. Perhaps in two or three years, it will be able to completely get rid of its control over Dacheng Rice Company in the grain market. depended on.
Cheng Dapeng didn't have much emotion after hearing this: "Is this the end? If they just want to compete through normal channels, then I have nothing to say."
Welbeck said: "No, how effective can these measures be? In fact, there are several councils, so they will talk to you first and persuade you to voluntarily give up control of the Batavia grain market."
"Giving up voluntarily? How is that possible?" Cheng Dapeng shook his head and said: "You also know the operating conditions of Dacheng Rice Bank. If you voluntarily withdraw from the grain market, what will happen to the local area."
"The food supply will plummet, and food prices will skyrocket, and famine may occur, which will cause a series of problems, and may even attract foreign enemies due to civil strife." Welbeck immediately answered, but he Still warned Cheng Dapeng: "But the council thinks they have a way to solve the food problem... I heard that under Jean's instigation, Governor Van Diemen has sent an envoy to the Champa Kingdom, trying to get it from there. Purchase a batch of cheap grain to reduce the amount of grain purchased from Dacheng Rice Bank this year.”
"Champa? It's interesting..." Although Cheng Dapeng remained calm, he was already wary in his heart.
Although the Champa State is only a small country on the Indochina Peninsula, with neither military nor economy to show for itself, this country is rich in rice. Champa rice was introduced to the Ming Dynasty as early as the Song Dynasty and is famous for its early maturity, drought tolerance, and strong adaptability. When Haihan was founded, it once relied on the food supplied by the Champa State. The two countries even bartered with weapons produced by Haihan and traded food with the Champa State.
As a major grain-producing country, Champa sells a large amount of grain to other countries every year, and if the Dutch want to order grain from it, it is considered normal operation. Based on the international grain transaction price that Cheng Dapeng has control over, if freight is included, the cost of importing grain from Champa is probably slightly higher than the purchase price provided by Dacheng Rice Bank to the East India Company. But if the East India Company wants to suppress the Dacheng Rice Company and reduce local purchases through this method, then the cost cannot be simply considered from an economic perspective.
(End of chapter)