Chapter 2146
Yin Jangheung, a fisherman born and raised in Seogwipo, and Xiu Nian, a monk from Hirado Island, have never known each other before. However, in this special period, they have established a wonderful relationship through the Ming Dynasty businessman Yu Chengli. connection, and the common topics they can talk about seem to only revolve around Yu Chengli.
Yin Changxing wanted to know the past experience of his wealthy employer, and then consider how to suit him to get more benefits; while Xiunian wanted to know what happened to Yu Chengli after he came to Seogwipo. Being able to prosper so quickly may have some reference value for my current situation.
Each of these two people has a small calculation in mind, hoping to obtain useful information from the other party. However, the Chinese vocabulary they mastered was very limited, so it was still troublesome to communicate. They could only express themselves through stammering gestures and drawings.
Compared with these refugees who can only wait for rice soup in temporary immigration camps, Yu Chengli's situation is much better. Although being assigned to live in a local farmhouse made him a little uncomfortable at first, Yu Chengli was also a well-experienced multinational businessman after all, and he quickly found a way to improve his situation.
Giving porridge to the refugees who moved out of Hirado is just a way to build relationships with local officials. The real highlight is outside the immigration camp. Yu Chengli has already seen that the Haehan Army is the leader of this operation, and the Fujian Ming Army participating in it and Seogwipo, which serves as the logistics base, all play supporting roles for the Haehan Army. Therefore, in addition to porridge relief, Yu Chengli also prepared the content of "laboring the army".
Although the conditions in Seogwipo are limited and it is inconvenient to purchase supplies, as long as you have money, many things can still be accommodated. Of course, the labor army planned by Yu Chengli was unlikely to purchase a large amount of supplies and send them to the army, so he compromised and took advantage of the porridge relief period to entertain officials from all over Seogwipo - to reward the officers, that was also the labor army.
The situation in Seogwipo is not as tense as on the front line, and as civilians from Hirado are being transported continuously, the war has come to an end. The local officials have been tense for too long and are eager to have such a chance to eat and drink to relax, so They all agreed to his invitation.
There are no decent restaurants in Seogwipo, but when Yu Chengli came out of Hirado, he brought a group of his subordinates, including his personal chef, so this labor banquet became a family banquet. Yu Chengli took this as an excuse and asked the village chief to lend out his large yard to hold a banquet. He purchased all kinds of ingredients that could be bought with money at the moment, and also spent a lot of money to buy two jars of wine. It's just that this place is too remote. I want to find some more fireworks girls to accompany me, but there are no suitable candidates at all.
Of course, Yu Chengli did not forget to rope in his friend Gonzalez to participate in such a "good thing". After all, Gonzalez also has connections in the coalition, which may play a special role. In addition, he can also use this to help share the expenses. Reduce financial stress.
However, it is a pity that the Portuguese officer Simang did not evacuate to Seogwipo in advance, but stayed in Hirado and waited for the dust to settle before returning with General Haehan. Therefore, Gonzalez’s connections were greatly affected during this labor activity. It will be of no use for the time being.
Dealing with official people is a common occurrence for multinational businessmen like Yu Chengli. Whether in Ming Dynasty or Japan, he can handle official and business relations with ease. In the current environment, it is not particularly difficult for him to deal with officials from Haihan and North Korea. If it weren't for the limited conditions in Seogwipo, he might have been able to finish these things several days in advance.
Although the officials he hosted this time were not of high rank, Yu Chengli did not want to climb high in a small place like Seogwipo. He needed to know a lot of information now, such as why the Haihan Army crossed the sea to attack Hirado. In the future, will the trade between Ming Dynasty and Japan be cut off because of this war, and he will be transferred to the ruling area of Haihan? Can he leave freely in the future, and can he continue to carry out trade with Japan?
It is unlikely that you will get the correct answer to questions like this by just guessing on your own, but if you can spend a little money to get first-hand information from officials, it will definitely help you make the best choice for the future direction of the situation.
After working in the business world for many years, Yu Chengli understood the necessity of building good relationships with people in the officialdom. He put 100% of his efforts into business operations, but it was probably not as effective as a casual word from an official. Moreover, businessmen like him who do cross-border business most of the time rely on information to make money. If you are one step ahead at a critical moment, there may be gold and silver in front of you.
"Can we continue to do business?" Hearing the question raised by Yu Chengli, Haihan officer He Wenguang who attended the labor banquet couldn't help laughing: "It seems that Boss Yu doesn't know much about our country's strategy. In fact, our country is The purpose of overseas operations is most likely to clear shipping routes to facilitate subsequent maritime trade.”
Yu Chengli asked cautiously: "So, the Hirado clan is blocking the road, so that's why you summoned your country to attack?"
He Wenguang responded noncommittally: "This action is the decision of the big shots at the top. The people below are talking softly and don't dare to talk nonsense."
He Wenguang is not a powerful figure in the army. He is just a second lieutenant logistics quartermaster transferred from the Daedong River Base in the north. In the early stage of the war, he was responsible for directing the storage and transportation of materials in Seogwipo. Later, he was also responsible for the establishment and transportation of supplies part-time. Manage temporary immigration camps. Monk Xiunian was promoted from the firing line today because of the decision he made while inspecting the camp.
But regarding the ins and outs of this war, He Wenguang actually only knew a little more than the outside world. As for the reason for sending troops to attack Hirado, the order from above said that Hirado had hostile forces that must be eliminated, but specifically: What kind of situation, an officer in the logistics department like him didn't know much about it. Besides, this kind of matter is related to military secrets and military orders are so high that it really cannot be discussed too much in front of outsiders like Yu Chengli.
But Yu Chengli was obedient and had already captured the key information from He Wenguang's words. Since the purpose of Haihan's overseas military operations was mostly to expand trade routes, his conjecture was basically confirmed. The Hirado Domain was most likely to be Blocking Haihan's way in a certain area, such as rejecting the request of Haihan merchants to conduct trade in Hirado, or trying to monopolize the trading rights between Haihan and Japan, etc.
Yu Chengli's guesses were basically within the scope of common sense. He could not have imagined that although He Wenguang did not lie to him, the Haihan Army's attack on Hirado was an exception. It was not directly related to transnational trade. The main purpose was to combat hiding. The Eighteen Shiba Yu Party in Hirado, as well as the official Hirado clan who are on the same page as them. The posture of the Hirado clan blocking the way was completely different from the direction he expected.
Even after winning the war, Haihan had no plans to carry out direct trade with Japan for the time being. Instead, he completely wiped out Hirado Port without any concern for the feelings of the Tokugawa shogunate. As for how much trade relations between Ming Dynasty and other Western countries and Japan will be affected, that is also beyond the scope of Haihan's consideration.
Yu Chengli hurriedly responded: "The little man asked rashly, please don't blame me. The little man has one more thing to ask. After we go to the area under your country's rule, can we still choose to leave on our own?"
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He Wenguang said: "For you non-Japanese businessmen, we have always said you are free to come and go. But it is said that your ships have been requisitioned by the Hirado authorities, so you need to use us to provide the means to evacuate Hirado. When you get to the place, you can decide whether to stay or go, but I want to remind you that this is a good opportunity to recover your losses. If you leave, you will automatically give up. It is best to think carefully before making a decision! ”
Yu Chengli secretly complained in his heart, if you hadn't raised troops to attack Hirado, how would my merchant ship have been requisitioned by the government. In the final analysis, isn't it you Haihan who are the culprits? But this kind of thought can only be circulated in my mind, but I don't dare to say it in front of He Wenguang. Yu Chengli's worries are actually a bit unfounded. He has nothing worth Haihan's efforts to retain or forcefully withhold. If Haihan's army really intends to seize his property, there is no need to go to such trouble. The war in Hirado at that time was chaotic. Under such circumstances, he could just find any excuse and confiscate his property.
The reason why Shi Diwen decided to escort these foreign businessmen back to Zhoushan was of course to win people's hearts, try his best to restore the negative impact of the invasion of Hirado, and establish a good international image for Haihan; on the other hand, he also planned to bring these foreign businessmen who were familiar with Japan's foreign trade. Merchants in this situation are integrated into Haihan's trading system, so that if they continue to maintain trade with Japan in the future, Haihan's goods and culture will be imported into Japan much faster than now.
Perhaps at some point in the future, the Tokugawa shogunate will come to ask for the establishment of formal trade relations between countries, and Dinghai Port in Zhoushan, which is relatively close to Japan, is likely to be the first to benefit from trade. port.
But these long-term plans are difficult to see from the perspective of businessmen such as Yu Chengli and Gonzalez. They can only take one step at a time and be careful not to make any mistakes. Of course, as long as they follow the principle of relying on the strong, there won't be any big problems in the end.
After three rounds of wine and five delicious dishes, Yu Cheng politely asked his entourage to give two ingots of silver to each of the officials present: "My lords, you have worked hard day and night to take care of the people who have moved here. We have nothing to repay, so we can only borrow the land to set up This banquet is a token of our gratitude to all of you for donating our labor force. Please do not refuse.”
Everyone accepted the money with understanding and said that Yu Chengli was a person who understood the general concept and would be blessed in the future.
At the end of the show, He Wenguang asked North Korean officials to arrange slightly better accommodation for Yu Chengli and Gonzalez, and not to continue to stay in fishermen's homes.
In addition to the money, He Wenguang actually got additional benefits. After all, he wanted to give some sweetness back to the other party. He had heard Yu Chengli describe the current situation before, but with his authority, he really could not give Yu Chengli and others more convenience. He could only be a favor and help solve their living conditions problem first, which would at least make them feel The money is not in vain today.
Yin Changxing supervised the porridge relief activities in the immigration camp until the end, and then went home to report to Yu Chengli. When he got home, he saw Yu Chengli's men packing their luggage and moving out. He hurriedly went to ask, and then he learned that the village chief had vacated his big house. It was given to Yu Chengli and others, and they were about to move in.
Yin Changxing knew that his family's conditions were poor and he would definitely not be able to keep Yu Chengli here for a long time, but he was worried that after Yu Chengli moved out, his errands would disappear. After all, Yu Chengli spends a lot of money, and his income as an errand boy is much higher than going out to sea to fish himself.
Just when Yin Changxing was feeling anxious about this, he saw Yu Chengli wandering back and quickly stepped forward to ask about his arrangements.
Yu Chengli patted him on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, you should continue to work with me before I leave here. By the way, isn't your profession fishing? I have made an agreement with Mr. He from the immigration camp. Starting tomorrow, It’s up to you to supply seafood to the immigrant camps.”
Yin Changxing thought that there were now two to three thousand people in the immigration camp, and supplying seafood was no small business. He quickly responded: "The little man will go to sea early tomorrow and try to catch more fish."
Yu Chengli asked: "Is there any problem with supplying one thousand catties per day?"
Yin Changxing scratched his head and said: "One thousand pounds per day? Then I'm afraid we have to find a few more families to go to sea."
Yu Chengli waved his hand and said: "That's a little inappropriate... You can do it yourself. Just take the amount you catch and give it to Lord He's men at the rate of one thousand catties per day. But don't make it too little. At least one should be given every day." Two hundred kilograms passed... As for the price, it will be calculated based on your daily transaction price, and I will settle the settlement with you."
"It's also calculated based on one thousand catties?" Yin Changxing immediately noticed the fishiness in it.
"Nonsense! Of course, you will be counted according to the number of fish you caught!" Yu Chengli scolded: "You took all the money, sir, where is my benefit?"
The current situation of food shortage in the immigration camp may continue for a few more days, but there is no place to buy food locally without money. This is a troublesome problem for He Wenguang, who is responsible for managing the immigration camp. Yu Chengli found out that the army actually had funds to maintain the immigration camp, so he suggested to He Wenguang during the dinner that he purchase seafood from local fishermen as a food supplement, and volunteered to take on this job.
The immigration camp settled fees with Yu Chengli based on one thousand kilograms of seafood every day. After deducting the cost of the fishermen, the remaining portion was divided between Yu Chengli and He Wenguang. After a few days of this operation, the money Yu Chengli spent today will be back in his pocket, and He Wenguang will also get a lot of benefits. Although Yin Changxing seemed to be the one who made the least money, he had his own ideas after hearing Yu Chengli's plan.
(End of chapter)