Chapter 1877 National Strength
Of course Li Pu liked it, but he was still a little worried that it was too expensive, so he pretended to ask casually: "This mirror is so large in size, it must be very difficult to make, and the market price must not be low, right?"
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Shi Diwen said: "It seems that the prince also knows something about the manufacturing process of glass mirrors! Yes, the larger the size of this kind of glass mirror, the lower the yield rate, and you may not be able to get a qualified lens even if you make it ten times. Mirror surface Although it is inlaid, this inlaying process is mastered by only a few craftsmen in our country. Because of its limited production capacity, ordinary buyers have to pay for customization first, so the price is indeed higher than ordinary glass on the market. The mirror is higher.”
Shi Diwen's response is actually bragging. The production principle of glass mirrors is not complicated. After the process is gradually improved, the size of flat glass produced in Sanya is getting larger and larger. Although it is still difficult to directly produce such products It is a full-length glass mirror, but a full-length mirror made of several smaller lenses does not actually have many technical difficulties. However, rich people prefer rare things to more expensive ones, so Haihan deliberately controlled production capacity to increase selling prices. Shi Diwen deliberately exaggerated the difficulty of production in order to maintain the current high price of this product.
Of course, in Shi Diwen's view, a nobleman like Li Bo who had never been out of North Korea had limited vision and knowledge. If he could win his favor by giving him a full-length mirror, it would be too easy.
Shi Diwen saw that Li Bo seemed to be hesitant because of this, and immediately expressed his position again: "Your Majesty, actually you don't need to consider the price of this mirror. This is just a small gift from me personally, and there will be no other Any additional conditions”
Shi Diwen insisted on giving it as a gift. After a few words of refusal, Li Bo still couldn't resist and could only accept the gift after thanking him. When he arrives in Sanya, the same mirror will be prepared in advance and sent to his residence.
After receiving such an unexpected gift, Li Bo's mood improved, and he seemed to be more relaxed when talking to Shi Diwen. He was already at an age where he was very curious, and he had never left Korea before, so he was curious about everything in the outside world. Especially, there were so many new things in Haihan that he had never heard of before, which made him very surprised. This trip was really not in vain.
Think about it, this is just an overseas ruling area of Haihan. There are many overseas enclaves like this. There are as many as five or six around the coast of the Ming Dynasty alone. It is said that the prosperity of its capital city is far greater than this place, and Li Bo can't help but be full of curiosity about that unknown destination.
And this three-story trading center is not the only place where you can buy glassware. In fact, there are many categories of goods exported by Haihan to the Ming Dynasty. If Li Bo wants to see them all, he will not be able to finish them in one or two hours. of. In fact, by dark, he hadn't even seen half of the floor.
Even daily necessities such as windproof oil lamps, matches, perfume, and hardware, Li Bo would look at them with gusto, because he had never seen most of these things in Gyeongbokgung Palace and did not understand their functions at all. After the staff demonstrated it to him, Li Bo would praise its exquisite design. For every item that Li Bo praised, Shi Diwen would ask his entourage to record it and later include it all in the gift list.
In fact, the cost of these small things is not high, and they can be sold at an affordable price in the Ming Dynasty market. The main reason is that Haihan's industrial design capabilities and manufacturing technology are unparalleled in the world. At the same time, it also uses a lot of business skills for marketing, which can open up the market of Ming Dynasty. market.
Seeing that it was already late, Shi Diwen invited Li Bo and Jin Shangjiu to have dinner. It happened that Li Pu also had a problem and wanted to ask Shi Diwen for advice, so he readily agreed, but he refused to drink anymore anyway. Shi Diwen knew that the banquet the night before had drunk Li Shu enough, so he didn't force it now.
The Zhoushan Islands are one of the main fishing grounds in the East China Sea. They are rich in various fish and shellfish resources, and the seafood banquet has become one of the local specialty banquets. Although yesterday's banquet was also mainly about seafood, not a single dish was the same over the two days. In addition to the skill of the cook, it also shows that there are indeed many kinds of local seafood.
Although the dishes were sumptuous, Li Pu's mind was not on eating. After visiting some of the displayed products in the local business district and trading center, he wanted to have a deeper understanding of the operation of Haihan's business model.
"Master Shi, can you tell me how your country attracts merchants from all over the world to Zhoushan Island for trade?" After finishing the meal, Li Bo couldn't wait to ask his question.
Shi Diwen didn't expect that Li Shu asked such a general question. It would take three days and two nights to explain it carefully.
Shi Diwen thought for a while and responded patiently: "Your Majesty, this problem is indeed a bit big. I can only give you a rough introduction. If your Majesty is unclear about something, we can discuss it slowly."
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"The Zhoushan Islands used to be a place where merchants and pirates from all over the world gathered to trade, but at that time it was considered an underground black market without official control. After we occupied this place, we set rules here so that all transactions would be regulated. It can be followed. The trading environment we have created can give more people the opportunity to safely obtain benefits from cross-border trade, so more and more businessmen will come here and join the trade system we have built. ”
"The most important thing is this trading environment. The prince should have seen it today. The variety of things you can buy here exceeds that of any other city on the mainland. From transportation to inspection to settlement of money and goods, we have We can provide very complete services during the transaction. I don’t know if the prince has noticed that the transaction currency used on Zhoushan Island is banknotes issued by our country, which is far more convenient and safer than gold and silver, and it is also easier to use bank services.”
Haihan's trading and financial systems were both built under the leadership of Schneider, an expert, and their operating principles have indeed surpassed this era. What Shi Diwen could explain to Li Bo was only superficial. Of course, how much this explanation can make Li Bo understand, in fact, Shi Diwen doesn't hold out much hope. After all, he also knows that the Joseon prince doesn't know much about trade matters, so it's probably just a matter of asking such a question. Just because I was curious after seeing the prosperity here.
As expected, the purpose of Li Bo's question was actually to see if there is anything that can be imitated. If North Korea can have several trading ports like this, it seems that it can also make money through international trade like Haihan. Big money. Of course, Li Bo had a certain mentality of "I can do whatever I want", but he didn't understand that the "trade environment" mentioned by Shi Diwen was not so easy to imitate or copy. Li Ming said: "Your country's bank has already opened a branch in Seoul. I have also done some research, and it seems that it is indeed more convenient for businessmen. Then Mr. Shi thinks it is possible to develop a branch in our country based on Zhoushan's model. What about a trading port like this? ”
Shi Diwen said: "The model can be copied, but whether it can be developed depends on the market in your country. For example, if a businessman arrives in your country and finds that no one is buying goods and there is nothing to buy, then soon will choose to leave.”
Li Pu couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he heard this answer. When he recalled the goods that North Korea could export, it seemed that there was indeed a huge gap compared to the various goods he saw in the trading center. It seems that only some agricultural products can be sold for takeout, but judging from the trading situation here at the seaport, food crops are not the main trading content on the market.
It is true that primary agricultural products receive very limited attention in Dinghai Port, because most of the transactions between large grain merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and Haihan are completed in private meetings. There are stable supply channels and settlement methods, and there is no need to go to the market. Conduct public transactions. If North Korea's trading ports can only sell primary agricultural products, it will naturally be difficult to attract businessmen from foreign countries.
As for the deep processing capabilities of agricultural products, such as oil extraction, sugar refining, wine making, etc., the processing technology mastered by North Korea is also uncompetitive. Nowadays, Haihan's deeply processed agricultural products, relying on their cost advantages, have begun to have a significant impact on the private workshops of Daming. More and more wineries have closed down in Jiangsu and Zhejiang in recent years. After North Korea's market is gradually liberalized, such an impact will be staged again in North Korea, and the impact on the social economy will probably be even more significant than that of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, with the help of Haihan, it is not impossible for North Korea to use this trade route to make a fortune. It can develop some labor-intensive industries locally and let it serve as a processing place for certain specific commodities or a specific link. Taking the path of specialty processing industry can still be integrated into Haihan's trade system.
However, with this long-term plan, Shi Diwen is not ready to say too much to Li Bo at the moment. After all, he is still the heir to the throne, not the owner of the throne. Li Bo cannot be expected to contribute much to the decision-making of national affairs. Moreover, with this kind of consciousness instillation at the business level, Shi Diwen knew that when Li Bo arrived in Sanya, there would be someone there who could do a better job than him - there is probably a row of senior executives from various countries who have been brainwashed by Schneider over the years, like Li Bo. A fledgling bird like me will definitely be captured by it.
Although Shi Diwen himself is a senior general of the Haihan military, he hopes that Li Bo can feel in Zhoushan that the strength of Haihan's national power is not only reflected in the military field, but also in many fields such as infrastructure, commerce, finance, and shipping. It has gained huge advantages that other countries cannot match. He believes that only after fully realizing the power of Haihan in various fields, Li Bo will truly accept the advanced nature of the Haihan system ideologically. In this way, when he arrives in Sanya and begins his real study abroad career, he will be able to instill various ideologies. There won’t be much resistance anymore.
Regarding the candidate sent by North Korea to study abroad, Victory Fort had already conducted a special investigation led by Ning Qi, and read all the information about the North Korean Crown Prince in the large database. Since in the original history, the prince's basic position changed because he had been a hostage of the Qing Dynasty for too long, there is every reason to believe that he will become a loyal Haihan supporter after studying abroad in Haihan. As long as corresponding arrangements are made, Li Bo, who may return to China in two years, will become Haihan's greatest help in North Korea in the future.
Li Pu's feelings are actually relatively vague. He can indeed feel the strength of Haihan's national power from the two days of visits and conversations, but where exactly this strength comes from, he still does not have a clear understanding, nor There is no connection between this and Haihan's national system.
But there is no doubt that Haihan's success in these fields has given Li Pu the idea to follow suit. Although according to Shi Diwen, it is not easy for North Korea to follow suit, Li Pu believes that since allies such as the Fujian Xu family and Annan Kingdom, which are closely related to Haihan, can integrate into Haihan's system in terms of military and trade. Then North Korea should also be able to enhance its own strength in this way.
As for how to do it, Li Bo believes that if he can't find the answer in Zhoushan, then his final destination, Sanya, will not disappoint him. This is the main reason why he traveled all the way to study there.
After returning to his residence after dinner, Li Pu took advantage of his clear mind and asked someone to prepare the Four Treasures of the Study and record everything he saw, heard and thought after arriving in Zhoushan. He believed that after these insights were sent back to Gyeongbokgung Palace, his father might have more information for reference when dealing with diplomatic relations with Haehan.
Halfway through writing, Li Bo felt that there were some things that he still didn't quite understand, so he asked someone to summon Jin Shangjiu. For the second day in a row, Jin Shangjiu was woken up in the middle of the night to see Li Bo. He felt a little baffled. He thought that since the prince didn't drink at the dinner today, it was impossible for him to suddenly lose his memory again.
Dissatisfaction was dissatisfaction. As a minister, Jin Shangjiu did not dare to complain at all, so he hurried to see Li Bo. But he really didn't expect that Li Bo summoned him in the middle of the night just to clarify some details of these local cross-border trades. While he was dumbfounded, he was also a little moved by Li Bo's research enthusiasm.
Jin Shangjiu has been in Zhoushan for more than half a year, and he naturally knows more about the situation here. However, he is an official in the Ministry of Rites and is actually not good at business affairs. The extent to which he can explain to Li Bo is still very limited.
Kim Sang-jiu has a more conservative view on the trade system formulated by Haihan and the trade system he created from scratch. He believes that learning this set of things from North Korea may not necessarily be beneficial. Because he has stayed here for a long time, he has clearly seen how the Haihan people bribed and won over Ming officials for their own use. If this trade system is introduced to North Korea, the moral integrity of its officials may not be any higher than that of Ming officials.
(End of chapter)