Chapter 2288
The courtyard where Zheng Zao lives is only about a mile away from Guangzhou City. Standing at the door, he can see the tall towers and continuous city walls of Guangzhou City not far away. For city defenses like this, only Hue, known as the first fortified city in Annan, has the same scale. However, Hue City was unable to hold on for too long under the fierce offensive of the Hai Han Army. It was captured in just a few days. At that time, the Hai Han Army was less than two years old. If that battle had taken place today, Today, I am afraid that Hue City cannot survive even three days.
"How many days will it take for the Haihan Army to attack Guangzhou City?" Zheng Zha looked at the Guangzhou City not far away and secretly calculated in his mind. It's just that he knows very little about the combat power and defense status of the Ming army, and it is difficult to draw a clear conclusion about this.
"Your Majesty, the carriage sent by Furifeng to pick you up for the banquet has arrived." A guard reported softly beside him, waking Zheng Zha out of his deep thoughts.
It's not too far from the residence arranged by Li Nai for Zheng Zao and his party to the private house where Li Jifeng held the banquet. Even walking there actually doesn't take too long. However, sending a special car to pick him up represents the Li family's respect for Zheng Zao. , this courtesy is of course absolutely indispensable.
The Li family's manor outside Guangzhou has only been renovated in recent years. It covers an area of more than 100 acres. The south side of the manor faces the river and has a dedicated dock. The manor is complete with pavilions, carved beams and painted buildings. Although it is a traditional Chinese-style building, a considerable part of the various daily necessities in the manor are high-end goods imported from Haihan. It can be said that it is one of the most luxurious private manors in Guangzhou.
It’s also worth mentioning that this manor is right next to Haihan’s Office in Guangdong, reminding people passing by it all the time of the close relationship between Furifeng and Haihan.
When Zheng Zha arrived outside the manor, Li Jifeng, his three sons, and the main family members had already come to greet him outside the gate, which was enough to give Zheng Zha face. Zhang Jinbao arrived a moment earlier than him and did not go in first. He stayed outside the door with the Li family to wait for Zheng Zhuo's arrival.
The reason why there is such courtesy, Zheng Zha thinks, is because of his special status. People regard Annan as a country and treat him as the prince of a country. This kind of treatment is what Annan people have experienced for hundreds of years. to pursue the goal.
Zheng Zha was grateful and did not put on any airs after getting off the car. He quickly walked forward to greet Li Jifeng and others. But Zheng Zha didn't know that the reason why the Li family provided him with such high-level courtesy was not exactly what he thought.
His status as the young prince of Annan is certainly one of them, but when it comes to the national level, it is really overthinking to think that the Li family values Annan as a country so that they attach so much importance to his visit.
Annan has been included under Chinese rule since the Qin Dynasty. By the Ming Dynasty, Ming Chengzu sent troops to destroy the Hu family regime in Annan and restored rule over the area. During the reign of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty, the then ruler of Annan, Mo Dengyong, asked for surrender to the Ming Dynasty, and Annan became the Annan Capital Envoy of the Ming Dynasty until the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Although the late Ming Dynasty's binding force on Annan only remained on paper, and even the Annan people were unwilling to admit that they were a territory of the Ming Dynasty, this relationship continued.
The rise of Haihan in the South China Sea had a great impact on the historical development of Annan. After the civil war between the North and the South, Annan stopped professing vassalage to the Ming Dynasty, and did not apply to the Ming Dynasty to change the ruler as it had done in the past two hundred years. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Annan wanted to take advantage of the fact that Ming Dynasty was too busy to take care of itself, so as to seek independence from the suzerain country of Ming Dynasty.
From this perspective, the emergence of Haihan actually objectively played a role in splitting the Ming Dynasty. However, the Executive Committee probably will not choose to take the blame. In their view, Annan has long been separated from the Ming Dynasty, and it is only a matter of time before they separate. Moreover, when Haihan started his business, he happened to meet Annan, who could provide a large amount of manpower and energy. The cooperation plan of exchanging military assistance for these resources hit it off, so Annan, who had rapidly improved his military strength, had enough confidence to leave the Ming Dynasty and stand on his own. portal.
In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty officials, Annan was completely a traitor who refused to obey discipline and rebelled against his family. However, in recent years, there has been no armed conflict between Annan and Ming Dynasty. Therefore, although the people are not close to Annan, there is not much resentment towards Annan. As for whether the Annan people want to establish their own country and be on an equal footing with the Ming Dynasty, these things are too far away from ordinary people's lives. As long as a war does not break out, no one cares about what Annan will do.
The attitude of the businessmen is more practical. As long as there is money to be made, both Haihan and Annan will be popular trading partners.
Furifeng entered the Annan market at almost the same time as Haihan operated several local trading ports. So far, multiple trading institutions have been established in Annan, and the annual trade volume settled in silver has already been in six figures. Furifeng is also a very important trading partner.
However, due to objective reasons such as transportation, high-level figures from both sides did not have close contacts. As for Furifeng, only Li Nai had been to Annan several times to preside over the establishment of trade institutions there. Zheng Zha was the first high-level figure to visit Furifeng in Guangzhou on behalf of Annan.
Li Jifeng believed that Zheng Zha's visit marked that the cooperation between the two parties had entered a new stage. Annanguo wanted to set up a quasi-official office in Guangzhou and asked Furifeng to assist in the preparation stage. This was an improvement for him. Great opportunity for international impact.
If Annan's request is handled well, then perhaps more countries will follow Annan's lead and ask Fulifeng to assist them in setting up offices in Guangzhou. It is self-evident that such a favor will be beneficial to Furifeng's future overseas trading activities.
So after receiving the news from Li Nai sent back in advance through the Haihan Office in Guangzhou, Li Jifeng believed that receiving Zheng Zha must maintain high standards, so he was given all kinds of courtesy after Zheng Zha arrived in Guangzhou.
As for Zhang Jinbao, who also came to Guangzhou for inspection, if he came alone, he would not enjoy nearly the same treatment as Zheng Zha. Although he is considered a social celebrity in Danzhou and the project he came to Guangzhou to inspect is not small, it is still a little short of weight. At most, it would be good if Li Nai could come forward to accompany him on his inspection work. Even if he could receive such an invitation to a family dinner, it would probably be after he had at least finalized the plan to open a Guangzhou branch in cooperation with the Li family.
However, Zhang Jinbao is used to the world and does not think there is anything wrong with the high-standard treatment provided by the Li family to Zheng Zao. After all, when he met Zheng Zao in Sanya, he was almost always accompanied by senior Haihan officials. Li Nai This kind of smart person will definitely imitate Haihan's reception standards after seeing this.
As the top rich man in Guangzhou, the wedding banquet Li Jifeng set for Zheng Zao and Zhang Jinbao was naturally very sumptuous. Even the cups, dishes and chopsticks on the table were very particular. The porcelain used had a soft luster and was as warm as jade. It was obviously High-quality goods that are rare on the market. Zhang Jinbao had a keen eye and recognized that this kind of porcelain had appeared at a banquet held by the Executive Committee. At that time, he wanted to buy a few pieces of the same style back to Danzhou for his own use. He also asked someone to inquire about the situation, and the answer he got was that this kind of porcelain was called The new type of porcelain, which is bone china, has just been successfully trial-produced in Tiandu. The production capacity is extremely limited, so it is not sold on the market at all. And today I actually saw this kind of porcelain at the Li family's family banquet. It goes without saying that this is an internal product obtained by the Li family through their good relationship with the top management of Haihan.
In the original history, bone china was invented by the Englishman Josiah Spode, and its appearance was at the end of the 18th century, which was still more than a hundred years ago. However, Haihan believes that the market prospect of this kind of porcelain is excellent. , so we completed the trial production work ahead of time and are already in small batch production. As one of Haihan's most important trading partners, the Li family also received a small number of samples. Li Jifeng regarded them as treasures. If it were not an occasion like today where he needed to entertain distinguished guests, the banquet would have been limited to some Haihan. The glassware produced has come out to deal with it.
Zheng Zha didn't notice such details. He was more concerned about Li Jifeng's attitude towards Annan's preparations to set up an office in Guangzhou. Although he and Li Nai had already had a lot of discussions before, after all, the head of the Li family was Li Jifeng, not Li Nai, so the final decision had to be made by the old man in front of him.
Zheng Zha also made some preparations before coming, such as understanding Li Jifeng's personal preferences and so on. According to the information he has, Li Jifeng is extremely shrewd, but he is also very bold in making decisions. As long as he can provide him with sufficient benefits, it should not be difficult to cooperate with him.
After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere at the table slowly became warmer, and Li Jifeng took the initiative to ask: "I heard that the young prince came to Guangzhou all the way this time, intending to open a permanent office in the local area to take charge of Annan. Trade matters in Guangdong? ”
As soon as Zheng Zha heard about the business, he put down the chopsticks in his hand, nodded and said: "The trade exchanges between Annan and Guangdong are increasing day by day, but Guangzhou has always lacked a specialized organization to assist these trade activities. This move will definitely help regulate bilateral trade in the future and is also a good thing for businessmen on both sides.”
Li Jifeng said: "The young prince is not an outsider, so I will tell you directly. I wonder if this organization will openly operate as an official Annan official?"
Zheng Zha pretended not to understand and asked: "Excuse me, Boss Li, is there any difference?"
Li Jifeng said: "I believe that the young prince also understands that the relationship between our country and Annan... is not particularly harmonious. Although this does not hinder private trade activities, if you want to open this institution as an official institution, The local government may not be able to turn a blind eye, and there will inevitably be some obstacles.”
"If this institution is opened in the name of the Annan government, the government may come forward to cause trouble. Am I understanding it correctly?" Zheng Zha asked.
Li Jifeng did not answer this question directly: "Li does not dare to speculate on the government's attitude, but if we can take the initiative to avoid some trouble, it will ultimately be beneficial to you."
Zheng Zha said: "I would like to ask for advice. I heard that when Haihan set up an office in Guangzhou, boss Meng Li also assisted here. How did they handle the relationship with the local government at that time?"
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Zheng Zha's question was very targeted. As soon as Li Jifeng heard it, he knew that the other party was well prepared.
It was only more than half a year after Haihan arrived in Sanya that he sent people to Guangzhou to set up an office to open up the trade channel between Sanya and Guangzhou. The Guangzhou Guangdong Office played an indispensable role in the development history of Haihan. It can be said that most of the early trade activities were realized through this channel, which secured a large number of important resources for Haihan in the early stage.
Zheng Zha also spent a lot of time researching the history of Haihan's fortune, so naturally he would not ignore the existence of this special organization, the General Office of the People's Republic of China. At that time, how Haihan used the Office in Guangzhou to obtain various resources in Guangzhou has always been a question of great interest to him.
Li Jifeng responded: "Since the young prince knows about the existence of the Office in Guangzhou, he should also know that Haihan had not founded the country at that time and was not well-known in Guangzhou. They set up an office in Guangzhou in the name of Haihan. Almost everyone Thinking that this is just a business store, they don't think that this institution has other special functions. All the benefits that the government should receive are taken away, and Haihan's Guangdong Office is just used as a timely payment service. They are just fat sheep for tribute, as long as they don't cause trouble in Guangzhou. By the time Haihan rebels in Qiongzhou, the situation will have been different. Many people in Guangzhou will make a fortune from Haihan. Even if the government wants to move the Guangdong Office, There will also be too many interest entanglements. Do you understand what I said?"
What Li Jifeng means is that today's Annan is in a different situation from that of Haihan. Haihan was not yet famous when he established the Guangdong Office in Guangzhou. No one was wary of him, let alone regarded him as a foreign resident. Look at it from the official institutions of the Ming Dynasty. In recent years, Annan has been trying to break away from the Ming Dynasty and form its own country. If an office in Guangzhou is established in the official name of Annan, the local government will inevitably react to this. After all, Annan is still nominally a Since the Ming Dynasty belongs to the territory, how can we station official agencies in other areas of the Ming Dynasty without authorization?
However, considering Annan's face, Li Jifeng did not speak too directly. He believed that with Zheng Zha's mind, he should be able to understand what he meant immediately.
Zheng Zha was quite satisfied with Li Jifeng's explanation. He did not insist on setting up this organization in the name of the Annan government. He just listened to the opinion of Li Jifeng, a local boss, as a reference before doing so. It might be more beneficial for him to make a corresponding decision.
"Boss Li's words make sense, I have learned from you!" Zheng Zha responded politely: "I would like to ask Boss Li again. Do you have any other suggestions on this matter?"
(End of chapter)