Chapter 1731 Business Opportunities
Fei Cexian was not idle during his time in Sanya. The place he visited most was the Sanya Municipal Library. Although due to his academic vision, he was unable to master many of Haihan's advanced technologies through self-study in a short period of time, books and archives on literature and history were not difficult for him. So Fei Cexian read almost all the records in the library about the history of Haihanfa's family, and he had a clear idea of the methods used by this country in its development and growth.
Although most of these official records from Haihan are from the perspective of praising their virtues, Fei Cexian has also read the Ming Dynasty's records of Haihan's various deeds over the years. Comparing the two, there will naturally be a comparison. A comprehensive look and feel.
How Haihan managed to seize Hainan Island from the Ming Dynasty with nothing at all? The two sides' accounts of this period of history are of course different. Haihan claimed that his actions were to protect Hainan Island from being invaded by pirates, and he received support from local officials and people. The Ming Dynasty regarded this behavior as an invasion, but the local officials were either bribed by Haihan or eliminated, so they lost control of Qiongzhou.
Both sides have their own versions of this period of history, but Fei Cexian naturally believes that Haihan's side is full of lies and cannot be trusted. Now that Haihan has a relationship with North Korea, no matter what his real purpose is, Fei Cexian always wants to warn Li Xi and plant a nail for him first, maybe it will have some effect in the future.
Li Xi did not dare to argue with Fei Cexian on this issue. He knew that his current words and deeds represented the official attitude of North Korea. If he showed an attitude that was leaning towards Haihan, it would easily cause the other party to misunderstand. , thus affecting the relationship between the two countries.
Of course, he still disagreed with Fei Cexian's words in his heart. It is natural for the weak to prey on the strong. If the Ming Dynasty was strong enough, how could it be encroached on its territory by the little Haihan. It was Haihan back then, and now it is Houjin. Ming's weakness is being exposed bit by bit. Those who realize this are not only Ming's opponents, but also traditional allies like North Korea.
Fei Cexian didn't realize that his words had exposed Ming's weakness. In his opinion, since Haihan wanted to use today's occasion to expand his international influence, it would be better for him to quietly do some trouble-making work. . Although he was weak in power, he could add some resistance to Haihan through lobbying, which could be regarded as fulfilling his duty as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty.
The senior officials of Haihan did not bother to greet him yet. The enthusiasm shown by the businessmen attending the meeting was much higher than that of politicians from various countries. They had too many questions that needed answers from these senior officials of Haihan.
Among the countries that currently maintain trade relations with Haihan, the one with the largest scale and the most frequent transactions is still the Ming Dynasty. Even the big businessmen who have obtained Haihan nationality are from the Ming Dynasty. It can be said that Haihan's business system is actually built on the foundation of Ming Dynasty. Personnel, resources, channels, markets, and all aspects are very dependent on Ming Dynasty.
But this dependence is not a unilateral parasitism and blood-sucking of the Ming Dynasty. Haihan used these conditions to create huge commercial value, allowing those businessmen who chose to cooperate with Haihan to make a lot of money. The colonial business model advocated by Haihan in these years has also been greatly sought after by multinational businessmen. Now, not only every investment conference held in Sanya is overcrowded, but even today's diplomatic dinner is regarded as a business by sensitive businessmen. An opportunity to inquire about business information.
For businessmen, where will Haihan’s next colony be targeted, where will the next maritime trade route lead, what new products will be put on the market in the near future, and when will the trade tax adjustment plan announced at the end of last year It will be announced only when the time comes... Many questions need to be answered by these senior officials of the Haihan Executive Committee.
Even if the answer they can get in this situation is not very precise, as long as they can get a response in a few words, they will naturally figure out the answer from the details of the other party's tone, expression, and movement, and their analytical ability is no less powerful than that of the Security Department. intelligence expert. Because each piece of this information is extremely valuable to businessmen, if they can get first-hand information quickly, it will most likely mean that they can make arrangements earlier than competitors in the next actions and earn more. profits, and even monopolize the market in a certain place.
Haihan also attaches great importance to these businessmen. Although the focus of today's banquet is on official diplomacy, these businessmen are still given the opportunity to attend. This was definitely unimaginable treatment in the Ming Dynasty, and the businessmen were naturally grateful for this, thinking that they truly had a social status comparable to property in Haihan.
The foreign envoys who watched this lively scene all had the same feeling. To put it simply, it can be summed up in two words: envy. Although they may not think highly of these merchants in their hearts, they have to admit that these merchants have played a very important guiding role in the business system built by Haihan.
The envoys of the Netherlands and Portugal naturally had the deepest feelings about this. Both countries were known for being good at maritime trade, but after the emergence of Haihan, they quickly became supporting roles in the South China Sea. Haihan ate meat, and they Just the soup portion. The businesses with the highest profits and the fastest money were almost all monopolized by Haihan, and they were even prohibited from entering the coastal areas of northern Ming Dynasty for trade. This situation made it difficult for them to view Haihan's business methods calmly.
However, the two countries are competitors with each other. No matter how dissatisfied they are with Haihan, they will definitely not be able to sit on the same table. Su Keyi found the Champa envoy, while Thomas sat down with Zheng Zha, the young prince of Annan.
Su Keyi's purpose was very clear, which was to discuss the purchase of grain with the other party. The Batavia Council had actually decided at the beginning of the year to change the past grain procurement method. Instead of having the Dacheng Rice Company monopolize the business of supplying grain to the government every year, it would purchase part of it from the Champa State and other grain producing areas. to reduce dependence on Dacheng Mihang.
Putting aside the fluctuations in food prices that will occur during this period, there is actually nothing wrong with the Dutch approach of not putting all their eggs in one basket. It's just that they really didn't expect that the businessman who could control the Batavia grain market was actually an intelligence officer secretly working for Haihan. In Haihan's view, the adjustment to the grain procurement procedures decided by the council was... Measures must be taken to prevent it.
However, Su Keyi was still a little slow after all. Before that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already approached the Champa Ambassador Luo Keren to express his anger and suggested that the Champa country should not conduct food trade with the Dutch for the time being. The reason why Haihan just made suggestions on this is that on the one hand, Luo Keen is a pretty good person, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a good impression of him and does not want to use too harsh words; on the other hand, the real diplomatic work is actually in Champa was unfolding locally, and Sanya's greeting to Luo Keen was just a diplomatic formality.
Why Haihan knew in advance that the Batavia authorities wanted to purchase grain from the Champa State, and why they wanted to stop the Dutch's actions, Rockn was actually not that interested in getting to the bottom of it. His mission in Sanya is relatively simple, which is to try to maintain the relationship between Champa and Haihan, because for Champa, Haihan's role and influence are too important, and its weight far exceeds that of the Dutch. In the past, Champa's national power was probably ranked at the bottom of the Indochina Peninsula. Naturally it could not compare with big countries such as Annan, Siam, and Myanmar. It was even one level behind landlocked countries such as Laos and Cambodia. It was not until after catching up with Haihan that the Champa Kingdom finally stopped the decline in national power and slowly kept up with the pace of Haihan's development.
Champa relied heavily on Haihan's help in both trade and military affairs, and the most profitable industries such as salt, iron and grain were in the hands of members of the royal family. Therefore, as a vested interest, the Champa royal family was also a very staunch supporter of Haihan.
The Champa army also followed a development path similar to Annan's, that is, hiring Haihan military advisers to train the army, sending senior officers and generals to Haihan to receive professional training, and purchasing and installing large quantities of weapons and equipment produced by Haihan. Every year Haihan holds military exercises across the South China Sea, and Champa City will also send troops to participate in them to demonstrate the military alliance between the country and Haihan.
Haihan has also recruited a lot of immigrants from the Champa Kingdom over the years. According to statistics in Sanya alone, at least 1,400 immigrants from Champa have settled here.
It was precisely because of these very in-depth cooperation and the stable diplomatic relations between the two countries that Haihan was able to directly make a "suggestion" to the Champa State, hoping that it would reject the Dutch's grain purchase requirements.
Su Keyi originally thought that this was a relatively easy task. As long as he informed the Champa people that the East India Company would order a large amount of grain from them and pay in cash, the other party would definitely agree immediately. After all, no one would have trouble with money. However, Rockn's attitude was very cold. He only said that the matter needed to be reported to the country and that he had no right to decide whether to sell grain to the East India Company.
"Master Luo, I must remind you that this is not a one-time deal. If we cooperate well, then next year, the year after, and every year from now on, your country will have the opportunity to receive food orders from Batavia. , and the amount is not small." Seeing that the other party didn't seem to be very interested in it, Su Keyi thought that the other party might not be aware of the subsequent influence of this transaction, so he continued to explain.
It was hard for Rocken to tell him directly that he would not sell. After all, Haihan did not propose to deal with the Dutchman with such decisive words. In addition, he had a gentle personality and did not want to offend others easily, so he could only continue to play Tai Chi with the opponent: "Mr. Su, no matter how good the conditions offered by your country are, I don't have the right to make this decision for the Champa State. Everything has to wait for domestic decisions. But I must explain to you first that our country already made a decision in the second half of last year. We have signed a grain-for-weapons trade agreement with Haihan, and the grain that our country needs to deliver to Haihan in the agreement is this year's summer grain. Therefore, if your country wants to purchase a larger quantity, our country may not be able to supply it. Go to Siam or Annan and ask again. Maybe they still have surplus grain in their granaries that can be sold. ”
After hearing this, Su Keyi just wanted to roll his eyes. Annan and Siam had been having constant military friction in the past few years, and a large-scale national war could break out at any time. How could they easily sell the remaining grain in the granary. Moreover, Annan had already suffered enough from the famine during the civil war, and even if there was sufficient food, he would not sell it easily. If the East India Company offered a high price to impress them, it would go against the original intention of saving food purchase expenses.
However, Luo Keen's answer sounds reasonable, because this year's summer grain was included in the arms purchase agreement last year, so there is no way to sell large quantities of grain to the East India Company. This is not a question of more money or less, but that the city must be defended. Yue handed the grain to Haihan. But Su Keyi then thought about it. Wasn't this another hidden trick by Haihan? I was afraid that the people sent by Batavia to capture the city would be in vain.
"This is really depressing news." Su Keyi had nothing to say about this. He could not let the Champa people tear up the agreement signed with Haihan and then sell the grain to the East India Company.
"If Batavia is really short of food, you can actually buy food in Sanya. There is a special trading market here. Mr. Su can try it." Luo Keren also acted very well, and finally gave Su Keyi a Bad idea.
Su Keyi did know the trading market that Luo Ken mentioned. As long as he listed the target product he wanted to buy there, if the price was right, someone would contact him. But the problem is that the grain is bought into the official granary, rather than immediately put into the market for sale. The freight cost of buying grain from Sanya cannot be ignored. The more you buy, the more you will lose, so it is better to buy it locally from Dacheng Rice. Grain is purchased from the hands of an expert.
"Let's talk about it later." Su Keyi responded to the other party's suggestion with a forced smile. He also didn't want to explain to Rockne why the East India Company didn't buy grain from Haihan. The issue was too complicated. He now wanted to write a letter back to Batavia, suggesting that the council abandon its original plan and stop wasting food.
Of course, Su Keyi also knew that even if this kind of suggestion was sent back, the gentlemen in the council would not take it seriously. There must be deeper reasons for changing the way of food procurement, and most of them are related to the interests of senior officials. These matters are not his. Be able to intervene and solve the problem.
The time reserved for businessmen to ask questions soon ended. No matter whether they got satisfactory answers or not, it could only end here, because the senior officials of Haihan would also spend time in contact with envoys from various countries, and foreign affairs were comparable. Businessmen's pocketbooks are more important. Although the merchants were reluctant to leave, they were temporarily persuaded to leave to free up space for communication to envoys from various countries.
(End of chapter)