Chapter 1876 Trading Center
Technical knowledge requires a lot of time to learn and digest, and it also needs support from the court to implement and promote it before it can really be put to use. Although North Korea has obtained the opportunity to train and transfer shipbuilding technology from Haihan, converting it into productivity and further forming the combat effectiveness of the army will not be achieved overnight.
Even the most optimistic estimate is that this time point will be one or two years later. Maybe by the time Li Bo returns from Haihan after completing his studies abroad, the new fleet of the North Korean Navy may not be able to take shape. Therefore, Haihan has no plan to incorporate North Korea's future naval fleet into the coalition for the time being. Before it can truly form combat effectiveness, Haihan's request for the North Korean navy is only to blockade the Yalu River on the northern border and prevent the Qing Dynasty from allowing it. The army has the opportunity to invade south again.
As for sending troops to other sea areas to carry out military operations with Haihan like other coalition fleets, that is probably not a goal that can be achieved in the short term.
After spending most of the afternoon in the shipyard, Shi Diwen saw that Li Bo had no more questions to ask, so he suggested that several North Korean shipbuilders stay here to continue observing and invite Li Bo to visit Dinghai Port not far away. trading center.
Li Bo had read the report on Zhoushan Dinghai Port written by Jin Shangjiu in China. In addition to the shipyard and port, this trading center was also one of the key objects mentioned. After arriving here, he also briefly learned about the situation of the trading center from Jin Shangjiu. He was quite curious about this kind of officially guided trading organization, and he readily agreed after being invited.
The Dinghai Port Trading Center was built much earlier than the shipyard. After Haihan occupied Zhoushan Island, the docks, military camps and trading centers were the first batch of infrastructure to be built. The trading center, designed with the function of a regional trade hub, is by far the largest building complex on the island.
This trading center located on Zhoushan Island is not just a building, but is connected with the civil port on the eastern half of Dinghai Port. It includes more than 80 large warehouses, more than 300 shops, and more than ten large business warehouses. , as well as official institutions and numerous supporting facilities including the trading center and Dinghai Port Management Committee, its area even exceeds the garrison barracks of the military port on the west side. Trading center is just a nickname for this area. In fact, it is more appropriate to regard this area as a highly concentrated business district.
Goods and merchants from all over the world gather here to complete various transactions under the supervision of Haihan officials. Not only can it be more convenient to find sources of goods and sales, but the interests of both buyers and sellers are more secure. Institutions like this are actually found in various trading ports under Haihan's rule, but this is considered a larger trading center among Haihan's overseas colonies.
The resulting impact not only affects countries other than the Ming Dynasty. As a trade distribution center for many countries in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Dinghai Port’s geographical location, trade policies, and supporting facilities are more suitable for trade fleets from the sea. With the gradual improvement and improvement of the trade environment here, there is now a faint tendency to replace the trade status of Ningbo and Hangzhou. In the past, international trade that had to be completed in the Ming Dynasty now mostly moved to Dinghai Port.
"Master Shi, when your country opens such a place on Zhoushan Island, aren't you afraid that Ming Dynasty will take targeted measures?" Although Li Bo knows little about international trade, through Jin Shangjiu's previous introduction, he also knows that Haihan's approach will definitely This made Daming uncomfortable. After all, after these transactions were transferred overseas, they not only directly affected the government's tax collection, but also transferred a large amount of private wealth to Haihan for his own use. This kind of trade measure involves the vital interests of many people, and Li Bo does not believe that Ming Dynasty will have no reaction to it.
Shi Diwen smiled and said: "They have tried it a long time ago! But sorry, who has the final say depends on whose fist is stronger. It happens that our country is better at this aspect."
After Haihan occupied the Zhoushan Islands by force in 1633, he began to take over the international smuggling trade here and gradually guided and incorporated it into the trading system he established. This method of control made many vested interests in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions dissatisfied at that time. They believed that the Haihan people were snatching meat from their own bowl. Although they could not defeat the Haihan navy with strong ships and guns on the front battlefield, they also tried to use Some administrative measures were used to restrict trade between domestic merchants and Haihan.
However, this attempt soon attracted fierce revenge from Haihan. The beheading operation carried out by Gong Shiqi and Gao Qiaonan in Hangzhou in the summer of 1634 killed several officials in Zhejiang official circles who publicly clamored to fight Haihan to the end. of officials. At the beginning of 1635, Haihan concocted a fire at the wharf outside Hangzhou, and took the opportunity to send troops to Hangzhou Bay, blockade the Qiantang River, and attack the city of Hangzhou, forcing the Zhejiang authorities to grant Haihan trade rights in Zhejiang.
Haihan's direct and violent response was simple and crude but had an immediate effect, making it difficult for the Zhejiang authorities to have the courage to try to restrict Haihan's trade. Later, more and more local officials of the Ming Dynasty joined this interest network, and restricting Haihan gradually became an empty slogan. Now everyone is busy reaping benefits from the trade system established by Haihan, and following Haihan. Even the things that Han Zuo was right about were no longer mentioned.
If Li Pu knew that the Ningbo magistrate was related by marriage to Master Shi in front of him, and that he also had many properties on Zhoushan Island, then he probably would not have asked such a question. Shi Diwen's answer sounded as if Haihan had used force to resolve the trade dispute between the two countries, but in fact the methods Haihan used were not just war, and the private exchange of interests was not humane.
Li Bo had no doubts about Shi Diwen's boasting. He believed that since Haihan could defeat the Qing army on the Korean battlefield, and the current Ming Dynasty was not an opponent of the Qing army, Haihan's military strength should be superior to that of the Ming Dynasty. It is also a very reasonable choice to solve the matter by force.
However, his attention was quickly attracted by the prosperity here. Although he learned from Jin Shangjiu that Dinghai Port was a prosperous trading port, the actual situation here seemed to far exceed the definition of "prosperity" in his mind. .
There are many foreign businessmen on the streets who are obviously different in dress and appearance from the Han people. There are far more freight carriages plying on the road than in Seoul. The rows of shops on both sides of the street cover almost every industry that Li Pu knows, and there are several large business stores. It's like a bustling city. If he only looked at the scene of this street market, Li Bo would definitely subconsciously think that this was a big city in the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it was just a trading market on an island in the East China Sea.
If Li Bo knew the trading volume here, he would probably be frightened. The cargo throughput of this port alone has exceeded the total foreign trade volume of North Korea. The annual transaction volume here far exceeds the total annual revenue of the North Korean treasury.
"All the products that can be bought with money in the Ming Dynasty can be found in this market! There are also many things that cannot be bought with money, and they are also available here." Shi Diwen proudly introduced to Li Bo Said: "If the prince wants to buy any Ming property, you can also ask someone to arrange it."
Li Pu thought to himself that there were a lot of things he wanted to buy, but unfortunately he was too shy to ask for them. Because of North Korea's poor economic situation after the war, his study abroad trip this time had to cut off funding and accompanying personnel. Although King Li Bo said that he would try to raise some funds for him, Li Bo really didn't have any spare money at the moment. Available, you can only restrain your desire to shop first.
However, Shi Diwen's words made Li Bo think of another question: "Master Shi, since you can attract a large number of Ming merchants to do business here, wouldn't it also attract many Han people to make a living here and then be recruited as Send immigrants to settle in your country?" When it comes to immigration issues, Shi Diwen is more cautious. He knows that the immigration negotiations between Haihan and North Korea have not achieved the desired results. North Korea is quite wary of this and is not willing to let it go. Haihan was recruiting immigrants in North Korea, and Shi Diwen believed that Li Bo's question was probably a test.
"Our country has a huge demand for population, and the application window for immigration is always open. However, there are corresponding requirements and restrictions on whether you can obtain Chinese nationality. Not everyone can immigrate to our country." Shi Diwen still took the approach A more conservative attitude answered Li Bo's question: "In addition, doing business and recruiting immigrants are two different things, and the prince cannot confuse them."
Seeing that Shi Diwen seemed a little unhappy about this, Li Bo quickly apologized: "I made a mistake, Master Shi, don't blame me."
Shi Diwen didn't want to have too much discussion with Li Bo on the immigration issue, so he took the initiative to change the topic: "Your Majesty, why don't we go to a few shops together to see if there is anything that the Crown Prince likes? I will make a gift as a souvenir of the Crown Prince’s visit to Zhoushan Island.”
"How can this be done?" Li Bo quickly declined: "Master Shi is too polite!"
Shi Diwen waved his hand and said: "The prince and I hit it off as soon as we met, and I originally planned to give him something, but I didn't know the prince's personal hobbies very well, so I just asked the prince to choose on his own. Prince, don't shirk anymore, just treat it as a gift to me. A face.”
After Shi Diwen said this, Li Bo couldn't refuse anymore. At that moment, the local official in charge of commercial affairs led the way and started to visit the business district.
Li Bo soon discovered that Shi Diwen's previous introduction was not a boast. The various products sold here were indeed very rich, and some of the products from the inland areas of the Ming Dynasty had never even been heard of. But after wandering around for a long time, he really didn't see anything good that could make him fall in love at first sight.
Upon seeing this, Shi Diwen took the initiative and asked: "Is the Crown Prince interested in the things produced by our Haihan? Well... I mean things other than weapons."
Li Ming said: "Someone brought two sets of glass stationery produced in your country to the palace as tribute. My father liked them very much, and later gave one of them to me. I heard that this is one of your country's specialties, and the variety is There are so many, I really want to see how many styles there are.”
Shi Diwen nodded and said: "This is easy to handle. There is a special store in the trading center selling Chinese products, so I will take the prince to have a look."
For high-level people who pay attention to elegance, the high-end glass stationery produced in Haihan is undoubtedly a valuable work of art for collection. Although the process of making glass is nothing new in this era, the glassware produced in Haihan not only surpasses its counterparts in East Asia in terms of craftsmanship, but even Western businessmen have stopped shipping glassware here from Europe in recent years. Nowadays, glassware from other countries except Haihan can hardly be seen in the Ming Dynasty market.
Before Haihan opened the door to trade in North Korea, maritime merchants from North Korea and Ming Dynasty brought Haihan products to the North Korean market. Some of the more exquisitely crafted items were sent as tribute to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Even Shi Diwen may not know whether this kind of tribute is for personal career, or whether it comes from the instructions of some special departments of Haihan.
The Haihan product display area located in the trading center occupies three floors, and the content basically includes all categories of Haihan's export commodities. Of course, the weapons and equipment sold to foreign countries will not be displayed here. You need to go to the garrison base over the military port to see them.
Haihan's current export commodities are mainly divided into two categories: industrial and agricultural. Industry is mainly based on mass-produced daily necessities, while agriculture is mainly based on products after deep processing. So far, Daming is still Haihan's main export market, and about 80% of Haihan's goods sold to the area north of the Yangtze River are shipped through Ding seaport, so the variety of goods here is quite complete, even no less than Trading center in Port Victory.
After Li Bo stepped into the shop displaying glassware, he was dazzled by the various bright vessels here. Then he realized that the glassware he had seen before was too crude and could not be compared with the exhibits here. He soon saw the same type of glass stationery collected in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but there were more styles and colors to choose from. Not only were there the crystal clear styles he had seen, but there were also various colorful colors. Painted with gold and inlaid with silver, it's so luxurious.
Then Li Bo's attention was quickly attracted to the glass mirror. In fact, there are several glass mirrors made in Haehan in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but the size is much smaller than the exhibits here. Especially the kind of full-length floor-to-ceiling mirror made of several smaller flat mirrors, which made Li Bo almost unable to move his feet when standing in front of the mirror. This was the first time in his life that he could truly see his own appearance from this angle, which gave him a different kind of impact.
"Does the Crown Prince like this mirror?" Of course Shi Diwen noticed Li Bo's emotional changes and took the initiative to ask him what he meant: "If the Crown Prince likes it, I will have someone prepare a mirror like this in Sanya before he dies. The son’s residence.”
(End of chapter)