Chapter 2171
Yu Chengli has lived in Hirado for a long time, so he is naturally more aware of the conflict of interests between the Hirado clan and the shogunate than the outside world. The shogunate had long tried to control Japan's foreign trade so that taxes from these commercial activities would go directly into the shogunate's treasury. However, Japan's navigation industry is not developed, so cross-border trade is basically concentrated in the westernmost areas of the Japanese archipelago, close to the East Asian continent, such as Hirado Domain, Tsushima Domain, Satsuma Domain, etc. The shogunate has limited control over these areas. , can only be adjusted slowly bit by bit.
Nagasaki was a trading port launched by the shogunate under this background. In addition to trying to gradually bring Japan's cross-border trade to Nagasaki, it also used this method to keep out foreign missionaries that the shogunate had always disliked. .
Haihan had not sent intelligence personnel to Japan before, so he didn't know much about Nagasaki. He could only piece together the situation in Nagasaki through some fragmented information. A businessman like Yu Chengli who has been to the local area will definitely be able to provide more intelligence than Amakusa Shiro who was previously sent to the local area to perform secret investigation missions. Moreover, businessmen's perspective on local society is definitely different from that of the military, and the opinions given may be of more reference value to Yang Yun.
If Yang Yun wants to know the information about Nagasaki, the foreign businessmen brought back by the military from Hirado are undoubtedly the best people to ask. However, not all of these businessmen have been to Nagasaki, so he had to spend time screening the conversation partners. At this time, Yu Chengli took the initiative to visit, and Yang Yun naturally would not let him go. This question was really the right one. People.
Under Yang Yun's careful questioning, Yu Chengli slowly let go of his guard and told Yang Yun some of the information he had.
He also thought very clearly that it was unlikely that he would return to Japan to run his business again, so whether Haihan would attack Nagasaki next would not have a direct impact on his future life. If you cooperate well with Haihan officials now, you may be able to leave a good impression in front of Mr. Yang, which will definitely be beneficial to your business in the areas under Haihan's rule in the future.
Yang Yun asked carefully, and Yu Chengli answered in detail, which made the people behind Yu Chengli miserable. After eating at noon, they sat in the conference room on the second floor waiting for Yang Yun to receive them. They were all drowsy from waiting.
Yu Chengli didn't want to miss this rare opportunity to gain favor in front of Yang Yun. After talking for more than an hour, his mouth went dry and he almost emptied his mind of all the information related to Nagasaki. However, as Yang Yun's questions gradually deepened, he gradually understood that if Haihan really wanted to send troops to attack Nagasaki, the official who asked him to understand the situation would not be Yang Yun. Therefore, the purpose of this conversation may not be out of military considerations, but because the Haihan people are considering the possibility of opening up the Nagasaki trade route.
Yu Chengli actually didn't quite understand why he had just finished conquering Hirado and then started doing business with the Japanese. Could it be that Haihan really didn't care about the other party's face?
Of course, Yang Yun would not give him a detailed explanation of the real reason why Haihan sent troops to attack Hirado. In addition to the confidential orders issued by the top management, the interest considerations involved were too complicated. Even Yang Yun did not fully understand the executive committee. All reasons for the decision to go to war.
trading! Yang Yun knew very well what direction he needed to focus on. As long as he could manage the trade activities in Zhoushan Colonial Zone well, his future would be bright. Why Japan was beaten, and why his boss tried to establish trade relations with Japan after the incident, those are not important. Yang Yun knew that he had to complete this task to prove his professional ability.
The information provided by Yu Chengli is undoubtedly of great reference value. At least it allows Yang Yun to examine the operating conditions of Nagasaki Port from the perspective of a foreign businessman. Judging from Yu Chengli's description, Yang Yun can basically conclude that the trade scale of Nagasaki Port is still far behind Dinghai Port, and even slightly inferior to Hirado Port.
Before Kaihan sent troops to attack Hirado, the first choice trading port for foreign merchants in Japan was Hirado, which had a relatively mature trade environment. However, as the shogunate revised trade regulations in 1635, Portuguese and Dutch merchants began to be required to only Go to Nagasaki to trade. Later, the Portuguese were even banned from entering Japanese trade, and could only sneakily settle in Hirado, where supervision was not strict.
Yu Chengli believes that the destruction of Hirado Port will not only significantly reduce the scale of Japan's foreign trade in the short term, but will also cause Portuguese maritime merchants who have been banned from entering by the shogunate to directly withdraw from the Japanese market. Of course, regarding this loss, Haihan has already provided the emerging market of North Korea to Portugal in exchange in advance, so the Portuguese do not have too many complaints so far.
Yu Chengli, who did not know the inside story, believed that after the Portuguese withdrew from the Japanese market, the market share they vacated would be divided between the Han maritime merchants and the Dutch. However, Yu Chengli still had an unspoken thought in his mind. If Haihan wanted to intervene in Japan's foreign trade market at this time, it would be difficult for either the Han or the Dutch to compete with the powerful Haihan.
However, what Yu Chengli never expected was that although Haihan was determined to open up a trade route to Nagasaki, he did not intend to do it personally at this stage. Instead, he wanted to find a reliable agent to be responsible for the implementation, so as to avoid attacks as much as possible. The negative impact caused by Hirado.
Yang Yun did not include Yu Chengli in his list of inspection targets at the beginning, because the scale of Yu Chengli's business in Hirado was not large, and there was still a gap between the threshold he had drawn up. Of course, the most important thing is that Yang Yun learned that Yu Chengli's main trading partners in Hirado were the families of the old and new feudal lords. Although they may not have anything to do with the Shiba Shiyu Party, they were still a hidden danger.
However, after today's conversation, Yang Yun's view of Yu Chengli has changed. He has developed this businessman who is not only knowledgeable and knowledgeable, but also has great ideas in doing things. He is indeed a smart man. It is no wonder that he can run high-end routes in Hirado.
But this would at best allow Yang Yun to temporarily include Yu Chengli on the list of candidates for inspection, and would not immediately consider Yu Chengli as a candidate to implement the plan. Since Yu Chengli claimed that he did not plan to leave Zhoushan in the near future, Yang Yun planned to inspect him for a while before deciding whether to give him this great fortune.
After Yang Yun finished the conversation, he stood up and transported Yang to the door of the office, and told him that if he needed anything later, he could come to see him in the business office. At that moment, Yu Chengli was flattered and thanked him profusely before leaving.
When Yu Chengli passed by the conference room, he found that all the guys behind him were dozing off. At that moment, he was a little grateful for his good luck. If he hadn't had the courage to ask to see Yang Yun, he wouldn't have been able to meet Yang Yun. It’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to talk alone.
It's just that Yu Chengli doesn't yet have a clear understanding of how much this conversation will play in his future career development. He doesn't understand Haihan's agency system, otherwise he should be able to get a taste of it from this meeting.
But no matter what, he had at least achieved his purpose and obtained the permission certificate signed by Yang Yun himself. With this thing, most of the islands in the Zhoushan Colonial Zone can be safely used.
Yin Changxing was sitting under the wall outside the small building of the Business Office. When he saw Yu Chengli finally appeared, he quickly patted his butt and stood up to greet him.
"Let's go, things are done, let's add food tonight!" Yu Chengli showed off proudly.
Yin Changxing said congratulations, went to the side and called for a soft sedan, picked up Yu Chengli and got into the sedan, and then headed back home.
In the evening, Yu Chengli summoned his men and explained to them his recent plans. If he stayed in Zhoushan to run his old business, he would have to compete directly with powerful local businessmen, and this would be a very obvious disadvantage for him. Considering the cost of opening a shop, Yu Chengli feels that it will be difficult to open a business in Zhoushan in the short term, so he hopes to try to find a stable sales channel first, and then consider arrangements for purchasing land in Zhoushan. The next trip to the islands in Zhoushan was to achieve this goal.
Except for Yin Changxing, the people under Yu Chengli were all old men who had followed him for many years. Even during the Hirado war, they followed him all the way to Seogwipo and then to Zhoushan. Naturally, they followed his lead and would not question the decisions he made. .
Yin Changxing, on the other hand, has always had the idea of repaying his kindness. Now Yu Chengli has made it clear that it is difficult. It would be extremely unloyal for him to leave at this juncture. What's more, he had already said hello to Xiunian before and would follow Yu Chengli for a while. Of course, he had to keep his word.
Yu Chengli was very pleased when he saw that no one among his subordinates expressed any objection. After working in the business field for so many years, he had seen many cases of companies going bankrupt due to poor management. After being forced to evacuate from Hirado to Zhoushan, his business was in a very difficult period. At this time, it was commendable that he could never abandon him and still fully trust his subordinates.
After deciding on a general strategy, Yu Chengli asked everyone to pack their bags and prepare for their activities after leaving Zhoushan. Yu Chengli appointed an experienced and prudent subordinate and asked him to stay in Zhoushan to handle orders from consignment merchants. Although there may not be any orders, for Yu Chengli now, shrimps are also meat, and it is the last word to get the funds back as soon as possible.
Early the next morning, Yu Chengli went to Dinghai Port in person to rent a suitable boat to leave Zhoushan. At the port, he met Portuguese businessman Gonzalez, whom he had not seen for many days.
After the two arrived in Zhoushan, they were busy with their own affairs. Yu Chengli was too busy recently and had no time to contact Gonzales. He never expected to meet at the port.
Yu Chengli cupped his hands and said, "Long time no see. How is Boss Gang doing?"
Gonzalez responded: "This place is not easy to live in! The competition is too fierce. After looking at it for more than half a month, I still can't decide which line of work to do. How about Boss Yu?"
"Both each other!" Yu Chengli sighed and said: "Zhoushan is indeed prosperous, but it is indeed a bit difficult for businessmen like us who are neither up to nor down to do business here."
Most of the merchants who have opened stores in Zhoushan are quite capable. Many of them are mainly engaged in wholesale business, and some are manufacturers themselves. Their relatively low operating costs are completely beyond the reach of outsiders such as Yu Chengli and Gonzalez.
Although their previous business scale in Hirado was not small, when compared with other businesses in Zhoushan's environment, the gap immediately emerged. Yu Chengli could only settle for the next best thing and choose to open up the township market. Although the space of this market was much smaller than the trade market of Dinghaigang, it was still a goal that he could strive for.
But Gonzalez had no conditions to choose Yu Chengli's approach. As a Portuguese, it was difficult for him to go deep into the township of Haihan to do this kind of business for ordinary people. Even if he can speak Chinese, he will still be regarded as an alien by the villagers, and it will be difficult for him to integrate into the local society as quickly as Yu Chengli.
"I plan to leave Zhoushan and go to North Korea." Gonzalez said: "I heard that our country has negotiated trade conditions with North Korea and can go to the capital of North Korea to do business."
Yu Chengli didn't know much about North Korea, so he couldn't comment on whether Gonzalez's choice was good or bad, but he still had some doubts about whether this destination was suitable for businessmen like them.
"Joseon is very close to Haehan. Even Seogwipo was lent to Haehan as a temporary military camp. Then the capital of Joseon has probably been swarmed with Haehan merchants, right?"
In response to Yu Chengli's reasonable doubts, Gonzalez could only respond with a wry smile: "You have to go and see what the situation is before you know. Maybe there may be some valuable local specialties, and you can earn a lot of money from a trip." I can manage it for half a year.”
Yu Chengli didn't agree with Gonzalez's optimism, but he didn't refute him. When staying in Seogwipo, Yu Chengli had already carefully asked Yin Changxing if North Korea had any particularly valuable products, but maybe Yin Changxing had limited knowledge, or maybe North Korea really didn't have any special products. In short, he didn't get one A clear answer.
Of course, Seogwipo is a remote area of North Korea after all, and it is definitely not as good as the capital. Maybe Gonzalez will find some good things there that are suitable for reselling back to Portugal.
However, Gonzalez's ship had been requisitioned by the Hirado feudal army during the Hirado War, and he could not get it back, so now he does not even have his own ship and can only find a ship to Seoul in Dinghai Port.
Both of them can only leave Zhoushan by boat now, so they can be regarded as brothers in distress. Just say goodbye to each other at the seaport, and I don’t know when and where we will meet again next time.
"I hope that when we meet again next time, we have all made a fortune and can sit down and have a good drink in peace!"
"There will be a day, I believe it won't be long."
The two said goodbye at the dock and each embarked on an unknown journey.
(End of chapter)