Chapter 1892 Pattern
Seeing Li Bo's refusal, You Yihan stopped trying to persuade him to accept his invitation. Li Bo's itinerary did not include a visit to Guangzhou, and You Yihan only said it on a temporary basis. If Li Bo really agreed to it, he would have to rush back and forth to arrange the itinerary, which would inevitably cause a lot of troubles out of thin air. , now I am just happy to save effort and worry.
In fact, although Hong Kong Island is small, there are quite a few places where Li Bo can visit and study. In addition to official institutions such as port terminals and trading centers, the many shops in the island's business district are also a good way to understand the Hai-Han trade system. window. The owners of these business inns are not only from the Ming Dynasty and Haihan, but also many countries in the South China Sea have followed the trend and set up trading institutions here, even Western countries such as Portugal and the Netherlands are no exception. After all, it is much more convenient to complete the import and export trade with Daming through Hong Kong, a trade hub port, than it is for them to go to Daming on their own to contact the source of goods, organize procurement and transportation, and complete the delivery of money and goods.
"Before we came here, the international trade related to the Ming Dynasty could be said to be in a state of disorder and chaos. No one could protect the interests of merchants. The risks involved in cross-border trade were very high. But it is different now. Yes, in the areas we rule, whether it is a businessman or a commercial organization, as long as it operates legally and in accordance with the regulations, its interests will be protected by the official.”
You Yihan said very proudly: "The treatment they receive in Hong Kong cannot be given by Ming Dynasty! Only cooperation with us is the wisest choice. That's why so many businessmen from various countries have gathered here to bring Hong Kong As their trading base, not only can they make more money here, but the trading environment is safer and more stable than in the past. It is a paradise for businessmen!”
To say paradise may be a slight exaggeration, but the trade environment created by Haihan officials here is indeed worthy of You Yihan's pride. Although it is not as complete as several major ports in Hainan Island, and the development space is limited by geographical conditions, it is At present, this is indeed an international trade hub that can radiate to the entire Pearl River Basin. Although Guangzhou is also very prosperous, if we compare international trade alone, it has already been surpassed by Hong Kong.
Most of Li Bo's exact understanding of business came from this study abroad trip. With his current limited knowledge base, it is difficult to fully understand where Haihan's trade policies and systems are fundamentally different from those of the Ming Dynasty. What are the differences and what are its advantages? So despite You Yihan's hype, Li Bo was still only interested in what he saw with his own eyes. After stopping the carriage, he walked into a few shops to feel the real business atmosphere, and what he could gain was more intuitive and reliable. .
However, this visit allowed Li Huang to pick up some interesting things. After coming out of a shop selling porcelain, Li Huang found that the store in front of him was a little different. Judging from the sign hanging at the door, this should be a store that sells porcelain. A shop selling cultural items.
"Nanhai Bookstore? How much money can you make from selling books? If you open a store and sell books in this place where land is so valuable, aren't the store owners worried about losing money?" Li Bo asked curiously.
You Yihan responded with a smile: "The prince has thought carefully, but this store does not need to worry about losing money. Can the prince think of the reason?"
It was not difficult for You Yihan to ask this question. Li Shu had already thought of the answer as soon as he rolled his eyes: "Is this bookshop an official property of your country?"
Seeing Li Shu's sharp thinking, You Yihan couldn't help but give a thumbs up and praised: "The prince is really smart, the answer is exactly like this."
Nanhai Bookstore is an institution jointly operated by the Haihan Culture and Education Department and the Ministry of Commerce. It is one of the most serious state-owned units. Its business direction is to export culture to various countries, especially the Ming Dynasty, which has a similar culture.
However, the printed matter sold by Nanhai Bookstore was not just about promoting Hai-Han political concepts. In fact, in order to win the favor of Ming literati and upper-class figures, Nanhai Bookstore printed a large number of classics and history collections and sold them to the Ming Dynasty. Since the typesetting and printing technology used by Haihan is far superior to that of its competitors at the same time, and it is able to control the production cost of books at a relatively low level, the price of the Haihan version of the book is lower than that of the versions on the market. At least 30% more, and the paper is better and the printing effect is clearer. It hardly took much effort to enter the cultural market of the Ming Dynasty.
Although the business would not be very profitable after actively lowering prices, Haihan's main purpose in running this business was not for money, but to gradually encroach on Ming Dynasty's book publishing market. Towards this ambitious goal, Nanhai Bookstore enjoys quite generous state financial subsidies. Its first priority is to promote books, and making money can come later.
Of course, in addition to orthodox readings such as the Four Books and Five Classics, Nanhai Bookstore also publishes some miscellaneous books, such as various chapter-style novels that were changed from the history of foreign wars by Haihan and Han Dynasty. The sales volume in the Ming Dynasty has been quite good, and they are very popular among young and middle-aged readers. welcome.
As soon as Li Pu entered the door, he was attracted by a book "The Rise of the South China Sea" that was placed in a prominent position. The cover of this book shows the easily recognizable Haihan warship, coupled with the deliberately painted background of stormy waves, and a large number of books piled into a pyramid shape. As long as people walk into the store, it will be difficult to take their eyes away from this. Move over the book.
"The content of this book is about the history of our country's prosperity after coming to the South China Sea. It is also one of the auxiliary reading materials for the education of school-age children in our country." You Yihan noticed Li Bo's expression and immediately introduced the origin of this book to him : "Our country and Ming Dynasty have established diplomatic relations. We believe that mutual understanding and trust will help the development of relations between the two countries, so we will also publicly sell this book to Ming Dynasty, hoping to make the people of Ming Dynasty know more about our country. ”
Li Shu picked up the book on the page and saw that there was a slightly smaller character "一" under the title. He immediately asked: "Is there more than one volume of this book?"
You Yihan nodded and said: "Ten volumes have been published so far. From a certain perspective, it can be regarded as a chronicle of our country."
When Li Pu heard this, he immediately became interested: "Can you ask Master You to buy a set for me? This should be a very interesting history book."
You Yihan said: "There may not be a complete set here. Since the prince is interested, I will inform Nanhai Bookstore in Sanya to prepare a set. When the prince arrives, it will be sent to your embassy. It can be regarded as a small gift."< br>
Li Pu knew that these high-ranking officials from Haihan were always generous and would not care about this small amount of money, so he did not refuse anymore and quickly thanked You Yihan for his kindness. The internal space of this Nanhai Bookstore is really not small. Li Bo visually estimated that it is much larger than the palace he lived in in Gyeongbokgung Palace. In addition to the display stand in the middle that focuses on promoting books, there are also four sides. The tall bookshelf placed on the wall is at least a foot high on the top floor. It is densely packed with books. You have to climb the stairs prepared in the store to get to the top.
North Korea has always used Confucianism as a strategy to govern the country. Li Bo grew up in the palace, and the books he read were mainly the Four Books and Five Classics introduced from China. He was considered a cultural person. However, he did not need to consider passing the imperial examination to gain the opportunity to become an official, so studying was not as difficult for him as for ordinary scholars. And personally, Li Bo still prefers to read Chinese characters that look more noble and orthodox than the proverbs invented by his country's King Sejong Yi Sun. However, apart from Confucian works and some poetry collections, there are very few other Chinese-character books in North Korea, let alone existences like Nanhai Bookstore.
In fact, Li Pu vaguely felt that he had seen Nanhai Bookstore when he was in Zhoushan, but he seemed to be on a carriage at the time, so he was unable to get off the car to find out. Fortunately, I had good luck in Hong Kong this time. I got off the car and walked around and ended up here. Seeing the store full of various books, Li Bo had the idea of "wanting to stay here for a few more days" for the first time during this trip.
However, he soon realized that his idea was a bit funny. Since Nanhai Bookstore is a chain organization and it also has a store in Sanya, and it is probably a larger main store with a larger collection of books, then why would he need to stay in the store in Hong Kong for too long? Just wait until you have a good time shopping in Sanya.
But Li Bo's idea is somewhat biased. Nanhai Bookstore is indeed an officially operated institution of Haihan, but its head office and printing center are not in Sanya, but in Danzhou, the traditional cultural center of Hainan Island. The store is just one of the branches. Of course, in addition to Nanhai Bookstore, Sanya actually has another municipal library with a larger collection of books, which is enough to satisfy Li Bo's thirst for knowledge.
Although he figured it out, Li Shu still couldn't move his legs while staring at the room full of books. Looking at his expression, You Yihan knew that this person was probably going to stay here for a while, so he immediately called the shopkeeper over and told him to serve this distinguished guest well, and then told Li Bo that he had to take care of some business and see him again at lunch time. . Li Bo was just happy to be quiet and could read here with peace of mind.
The shopkeeper didn't know Li Bo's true identity, but since he was accompanied by You Yihan and said hello specifically, he naturally didn't dare to neglect him at all. He immediately invited Li Bo to the back hall, served hot tea and cakes, and then He asked Li Ming if he had any books he wanted to read, and immediately ordered someone to get them.
Li Pu responded without thinking: "I saw the book "The Rise of the South China Sea" when I came in just now. It's worth taking a look."
The shopkeeper immediately asked someone to fetch it, but as expected, it was not complete, only the first five volumes. When the shopkeeper saw Li Bo immediately starting to look through the books, he said consciously: "I'm just waiting outside. If this gentleman has any instructions, just call me."
When Li Pu opened the first volume, what he saw was not a description in words, but a map reduced to a certain scale. He had seen a larger sea map more than once in the Haihan Army before, so the map he could see included a vast area from Liaodong to the South China Sea. It could even be roughly judged from the shape of the curved coastline of the Ming Dynasty. Here are some places I visited on my way south.
Before setting off on this journey, Haihan's many overseas colonies were nothing more than a bunch of place names to him, just inconspicuous dots on a large-scale map. But after actually traveling to these places, and looking back at this map that didn't even have Ming Dynasty and Haihan specifically marked, he had a completely different feeling.
Li Bo's reading was fixed on this map, and he did not turn to the next page for a long time. Because he suddenly realized how Haihan had brought the Ming Dynasty's coastline under his control through each of these overseas colonies and trading ports.
Starting from occupying Hainan Island and gradually advancing to the north, Haihan's expansion methods were not concealed. As far as Li Bo knew, there were at least four or five wars. However, Haihan still wrested these outputs from Ming Dynasty. control of Haikou and key waterways, and successfully suppressed the possibility of an all-out war in the Ming Dynasty.
Li Pu knew that Haihan had many overseas colonies in the South China Sea. How many other countries were suppressed by it like the Ming Dynasty? How many countries like North Korea choose to cooperate with it honestly? He didn't know and couldn't imagine it. In a country with such a scattered territory, how did Haihan achieve firm rule while continuing to expand its control area? What maintains the foundation of this country's rule?
Li Pu only knew that Haihan did not advocate Confucianism to govern the country, and there was no king or emperor, but this made him even more confused - how could such a seemingly deviant country change at a speed that is difficult for ordinary people to understand? Gotta get stronger?
Li Pu looked down at the book in his hand again. Can he find the answers to Haihan's many questions in the book?
After leaving Nanhai Bookstore, You Yihan actually didn't have any urgent government affairs to deal with. He just didn't want to spend time with this young North Korean nobleman in the bookstore. However, this does not mean that he has any dislike for Li Bo. On the contrary, he is actually very optimistic about this quick-thinking young man. Although his knowledge is limited, his strong curiosity and thirst for knowledge are what Haihan likes the most. Types of overseas students.
Therefore, You Yihan felt that he should give this young man some space and let him get in touch with Haihan's culture on his own. This might be far more effective than forcefully instilling ideology into him by himself.
You Yihan was sitting in a teahouse not far from Nanhai Bookshop, so that he could know for the first time what kind of books Li Bo was more interested in there.
Not long after, someone came to the teahouse and reported to him some books that Li Bo had asked the shopkeeper to send to him for browsing at Nanhai Bookstore. Li Pu's choice did not exceed You Yihan's expectations at all. He knew that the North Korean prince would probably not have the patience to wait until he went to Sanya to start reading the book. Sure enough, the other party confirmed his judgment so quickly.
(End of chapter)