Chapter 2404
Qian Tiandun was silent for a long time after listening to Shang Qing's words. Shang Qing was not in a hurry to urge him to respond. When he came to Jinzhou to negotiate this time, what he was most worried about was that the conditions he proposed were rejected by the other party without leaving any room for negotiation. But now that Qian Tiandun did not respond to him immediately, it showed that the other party should be considering what he had proposed. conditions.
As Shang Qing said, everyone knows that Haihan attaches great importance to trade development. If there are really huge benefits to be gained, then some things are not without the possibility of compromise. Although Haihan's military deployment and combat operations in the north in recent years have also achieved some benefits, such as the population plundered from the Manchu-occupied areas and industrial cooperation in North Korea, these gains are compared to Haihan's military expenditure in the north. , still in a serious state of making ends meet. It has always been one of Haihan's development goals in this region to be able to balance the balance of payments and even achieve profitability in the northern ruling area.
Haihan has three control areas in the north: Liaodong Jinzhou, Shandong Fushan County, and North Korea's Datong River Base. Currently, only Fushan County's operating conditions are relatively satisfactory, with both the stable output of the Fushan Copper Mine and the growing trade. scale, and already has sustained profitability. However, the war in Shandong has caused local trade activities to almost completely stagnate. It will take at least a year and a half to return to pre-war levels.
Although the prospects for many industries jointly operated by the two countries in the lower reaches of the Datong River are promising, only some of the projects have been put into operation at present, and many projects are still in the early construction stage. It will take time to recover the investment, and profits cannot be used to subsidize it in the short term. The cost of the Haihan Army stationed locally for a long time. Of course, if North Korea had not borne part of the military garrison expenses, I am afraid that Haihan would have been forced by economic pressure to withdraw the main force such as the special operations group to Jinzhou.
The situation in the Jinzhou area is relatively more difficult, because this area is in a state of war all year round, and almost all the local population and resources are used to prepare for war. The related industries also directly or indirectly serve the garrison, so it is not connected with the outside world. There is not much normal trading activity, and naturally there is not much revenue. Chen Yixin also thought of various ways when he was in charge of Jinzhou, but the local situation is not so easy to change. Unless one day it gets rid of its position as a war zone, it is possible for the local area to truly settle down and operate some decent industries.
But even if Jinzhou enters a state of armistice, it will be difficult to operate trade with the Ming Dynasty Bohai Bay area and North Korea based on local conditions, and the scale will be difficult to reach an ideal level. Because Jinzhou is a small place with limited resources and industrial scale, there are not many high-value goods that can be sold locally, and the limited population cannot provide high purchasing power. If you really want to turn Jinzhou into a trading port, there is only one feasible way, and that is to open a commercial channel to the north.
There were too many resources in the Liaodong region that Haihan was interested in, and after years of plundering foreign countries, the Manchu Qing Dynasty also had sufficient funds to purchase various commodities from Haihan. Compared with the poor Korean state and the northern border areas of the Ming Dynasty, the economic situation of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was more suitable to serve as the trading partner of Haihan. Even if Qian Tiandun had no good impression of the Manchus, he had to admit this.
However, before that, due to various considerations, Haihan did not regard the Manchus as a candidate trade partner, and did not even have the idea of trading through middlemen. He was only thinking about how to use military strikes to hold back the Manchus. The pace of the southward invasion of Ming and North Korea. Neither the Executive Committee nor the military believed that the Manchus would put aside their grievances over the past few years and actively bow to their side to seek reconciliation.
But the solution Shang Qing proposed this time did provide Haihan with a new direction for dealing with the situation in Northeast Asia. If Haihan relied on Jinzhou to establish trade relations with the Manchus, it would mean that Haihan had completely opened up the maritime trade route from the South China Sea to Liaodong, and the east coastline of the Asian continent was basically included in Haihan's trade. within range.
This is of great significance to Haihan, which has always used maritime trade as its main means of expansion. As the only force that has opened up this entire trade route, in the future, whether it is mainland countries such as Ming Dynasty or Annan, they will still be equally good at operating maritime trade. Western counterparts can only benefit from the dividends brought by the development of maritime trade by actively or passively becoming a member of the Haihan transnational trade system.
Of course, other participants can only follow behind to drink soup and gnaw bones. The only real meat eater must be Haihan who established this international trade system. Even if Qian Tiandun is not an expert in economics, he can basically determine that the trade potential of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is at least higher than that of North Korea, and the benefits it can bring to the entire trade system are far beyond North Korea. Haihan wants to use them It's still a bit difficult to just ignore it.
The decision-making power of the general direction is naturally controlled by the Executive Committee. Although Qian Tiandun is a senior general of the Haihan Army, he also feels that this matter cannot be decided by himself. However, there are some things that he must confirm right now, otherwise he will not have to consider the subsequent development.
"I want to know, is this part about trade your personal idea or the idea of your prince? Please tell me carefully. If there are any lies, there is no need to mention the negotiation!" Qian Tiandun thought. After a long time, he finally asked Shang Qing a question.
Shang Qing did not dare to be negligent and quickly responded cautiously: "General Qian, this is not a villain's nonsense, nor is it my prince's idea, but the emperor's intention."
Shang Qing carried Huang Taiji out, so Qian Tiandun naturally no longer doubted the reliability of his proposal. If it was Shang Qing's personal idea, then Qian Tiandun would not waste time with him. If it was Shang Kexi's intention, Qian Tiandun would not let go. After all, Shang Kexi was just a military general who defected to the Qing Dynasty. Even if he was Even if Huang Taiji became king, he would not be able to have much influence in the Manchu court. No matter how good the terms negotiated, it would probably be in vain in the end.
But if this is the intention of the Manchu Emperor Huang Taiji, Qian Tiandun cannot take it lightly. If done properly, this may be a deal that is extremely beneficial to Haihan.
Qian Tiandun continued to ask: "What does the emperor of your country want?"
Shang Qing came twice and bumped into big and small nails many times. Finally, he heard the other party take the initiative to ask about his own requirements. He immediately responded: "General, I said it at the beginning. Our country's requirements are really true." It is very simple, that is, a comprehensive ceasefire with your country. Of course, the agreement to cease the war is not only in Jinzhou, but also includes other countries.”
The frequency of fighting between Haihan and Manchu in Jinzhou has actually been much lower than in the past few years. Nowadays, there are actually few large-scale armed conflicts in a year. The armies of both countries have built extremely strong defense lines near the Jinzhou Isthmus, and both sides know that they will have to pay an extremely heavy price to advance the front. However, it is very uneconomical for both countries to continue to use military means to repeatedly compete for control of this area, so they have maintained restraint with a tacit understanding.
The heavy damage caused to the Qing Dynasty by Haihan's dispatch of troops to North Korea the year before last also made Huang Taiji and other senior Manchu officials realize that Haihan might send troops to help the targets of his crusade. This means that no matter whether they attack North Korea or the Ming Dynasty in the future, they may In its territory, it encountered the evil star of Haihan Army. So after the Qing army went south to Jinan Prefecture in Shandong this year, although it still had the strength to launch an offensive in the direction of the Shandong Peninsula, in order to avoid running into the activity range of the Haihan Army, the Qing army rushed to the western side of Laizhou Prefecture, a distance from Fushan The county had several hundred miles to go before withdrawing its troops early.
Therefore, in Huang Taiji's plan, the armistice peace talks with Haihan could not limit the armistice area to Jinzhou, but must include the surrounding countries of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to avoid a situation similar to what happened on the Korean battlefield. When Qian Tiandun heard this, he naturally understood what the other party was up to. He couldn't help laughing and said: "So, a complete ceasefire and the opening of trade are actually more beneficial to your country and cheaper." Let your country take it!”
Shang Qing defended: "General, this is a move that is beneficial to both our countries. How can we say it? Your country can save a lot of military expenses and reduce casualties. At the same time, it can open up trade routes and increase revenue. This can These are all visible benefits!”
Qian Tiandun shook his head and said: "I think the conditions you proposed are unfair. If we cease fire with your country, we will have to give up two allies for this. Your Excellency believes that the benefits your country can bring to our country can exceed those of the Ming Dynasty." With North Korea? ”
Qian Tiandun made his words clear directly, not wanting the other party's wishful thinking to succeed. Shang Qing's statement was completely rhetorical. The Manchu Qing only made a truce with Haihan, but did not mention the truce with Ming and North Korea. It was clearly because they wanted Haihan to give up providing military assistance to these two countries. When the Manchu and Qing Dynasties send troops to attack these two countries, they will no longer have to worry about Haihan sending troops to interfere.
Shang Qing knew that Qian Tiandun had seen through his trick, so he apologized and said with a smile: "General, don't worry, these conditions can be discussed later! At least we have a preliminary consensus. A truce and trade will be beneficial to both sides, General You won’t object to this, right?”
Seeing that Qian Tiandun did not agree with his statement, Shang Qing quickly retreated half a step and brought the topic back to the previous place where Qian Tiandun's attitude had relaxed, in order to preserve the possibility of continuing the conversation.
Qian Tiandun waved his hand and said: "It's still early to reach a consensus, you don't need to be so excited. Regarding what you said, I want to think about it carefully. You can stay in Jinzhou and wait for the news. If you are not worried, you can first Go back and come back to Jinzhou in a while to hear the answer.”
Qian Tiandun has now understood the other party's intentions, and also knows that the other party's status is limited and he has no power to make a decision on the armistice and peace talks, so he is not in the mood to continue to entangle with the other party.
Of course, he himself had to report the matter to the Sanya Executive Committee first. After all, this matter was extremely involved. It would not only affect Haihan's long-term planning in Northeast Asia, but also may affect the region's development. Due to the impact of the international situation and Haihan's diplomatic relations, Qian Tiandun did not dare to make a decision rashly, so it was safer to let the executive committee make the decision.
It was not easy for Shang Qing to come to Jinzhou, and he was worried that there were other variables on Qian Tiandun's side, so he decided to stay in Jinzhou to wait for Haihan's official reply, and only sent one entourage back to the north to report the progress. Qian Tiandun did not force himself, so he asked people to arrange room and board for Shang Qing, allowing him to temporarily stay near the Nanguanling camp.
After sending Shang Qing away, Qian Tiandun calmed down and wrote a message, stating the conditions and requirements proposed by Shang Qing this time, adding some of his own opinions, and then sent the message in person.
Because Wang Tom is now also a member of the Executive Committee, Qian Tiandun's message was made in duplicate, one of which was sent to the Datong River Base, so that if the Executive Committee needs to vote to decide whether to start armistice peace talks with the Manchus, Then Tom Wang can also have enough time to think about it.
Judging from past experience, the executive committee will inevitably need to hold a meeting to discuss after receiving the telegram, and the discussion time required for such a major decision may last for several days, and it will be at least three to five days before receiving a reply. Therefore, Qian Tiandun still has plenty of time to prepare for subsequent negotiations. In his opinion, the Executive Committee is likely to take this opportunity to contact the Manchus and seek the possibility of obtaining more benefits.
The Manchu and Qing Dynasties hoped to make Haihan give up Ming and North Korea through armistice and peace talks. Why couldn't Haihan take advantage of this opportunity and put forward some demands on Ming and North Korea in order to maintain the current alliance relationship. In particular, Ming Dynasty, which has always had many restrictive measures against Haihan, may change its current attitude towards Haihan if it realizes that Haihan may give up its military restraint on the Qing Dynasty.
In fact, after Shang Qing visited Chen Yixin in Jinzhou last time, Chen Yixin had already spread the news to Yue Yongshou, the Ming envoy in Jinzhou, and made it clear to him that Ming Dynasty should provide military subsidies to Haihan's garrison in Jinzhou. But at that time, Shang Qing was disappointed and quickly left Jinzhou to go back, so it's hard to say how effective this warning was. Perhaps the Ming court would not regard this news as a substantial threat. After all, it seemed a bit outrageous that the Manchus proposed a truce and peace talks.
Of course Qian Tiandun also knew that there were Ming envoys stationed locally, and he had no intention of keeping the news of Shang Qing's visit to Jinzhou a secret, so only two hours after Shang Qing checked into the official hotel in Nanguanling, The Ming Dynasty envoy Yue Yongshou learned the news.
If there is anything more terrifying than the Qing army's invasion of the Ming Dynasty, it is probably the collusion between the Manchu Qing and Haihan. Any use of force by either of these two countries will cause Ming Dynasty to suffer a lot. If they join forces, the consequences will be really unimaginable. Yue Yongshou naturally couldn't sit still after hearing the news, and quickly asked to see Qian Tiandun to get more detailed information.
(End of chapter)