Chapter 2634
Of course, steelmaking is not Haihan's unique skill. Other countries have already mastered basic smelting methods. But how to refine steel in large quantities at extremely low cost and use it as raw material to mass-produce weapons and equipment with exquisite craftsmanship and reliable performance at extremely high efficiency is not what the Ming Dynasty and other countries can do. This is something that can only be realized by Haihan, which has already begun the process of industrialization.
With North Korea's current national strength, if it wants to manufacture such weapons and equipment on its own, the cost will be astonishingly high, and the quality may not be reliable. Since Haihan provides ready-made equipment and it is more economical and trouble-free than building it yourself, it is not difficult to make a choice.
But Zhu Zian immediately thought of a deeper question. If a country relies on other countries for its most sophisticated weapons and equipment, how much strength can this country have? It's no wonder that the North Korean Congress became a wallflower. Seeing the decline of the Ming Dynasty, they turned around and took refuge in Haihan.
But think about the Ming Dynasty. Didn’t they also purchase weapons and equipment from foreigners at the beginning? From purchasing Portuguese artillery during the Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua periods, to later secretly smuggling Haihan arms, the Ming Dynasty spent a lot of money on external weapons and equipment. However, relying on these means to enhance the strength of the Ming army was ultimately insufficient, and it was still unable to withstand the decline caused by internal and external troubles.
Zhu Zian's thoughts were wandering, while Yang Yun's conversation with everyone continued. Of course, North Korea and Japan are not reconciled to the fact that their trade with Haihan has always been a huge deficit. Especially North Korea, which has a closer relationship with Haihan, has also been trying to upgrade some industries through the technology provided by Haihan to enhance its international reputation. position in trade.
However, the results of such efforts are not satisfactory so far. North Korea still mainly exports low-value raw materials. The so-called high-end goods produced after its industrial upgrading are still difficult to be included in the purchase list by Haihan merchants.
"When you go to North Korea, if you see souvenirs that you are interested in, you can buy some. As for other things, you can just look at them. It is not worth spending money." Yang Yun paused and then continued: "I want to come to North Korea. The officials should also prepare generous gifts and give away everything they can get. By then, everyone will be able to have a general understanding of the local products. Japan, on the other hand, has a long history with our country, but it has its roots in the Tang Dynasty. The culture that has been passed down and some of the handicrafts there are pretty good.”
Bai Letong said: "You can often see exquisite utensils such as Japanese lacquerware in the market in Sanya, and the selling prices are not cheap."
Tao Hongfang said with a smile: "This kind of thing is limited by the production process and has extremely limited production capacity. It is rare on the market, so it is naturally expensive."
Tao Hongfang has been in the Ministry of Commerce for a long time, and his perspective on things is more rational, and he does not consider too much added value such as culture and art. In his opinion, the Japanese lacquerware sent to the Sanya market via ocean shipping was far less practical than the porcelain and glassware produced in his own country. Buying that thing was just a curiosity to keep at home as a collection.
Yang Yundao: "One more thing, I forgot to mention just now. In order to cooperate with this mission, Mr. Shi specially temporarily recruited officials who are familiar with the situation in North Korea and Japan to accompany you. They are the two people who came to introduce the immigration situation to you earlier. ”
Tao Hongfang asked: "But the two people just now seemed to be civilians. Can they carry out diplomatic missions?"
Yang Yundao: "It is precisely because they are civilians that they truly understand the local customs and customs, and they can also serve as translators in the mission. As for real diplomatic negotiations, our country's overseas officials will be responsible for assisting you. "No need to worry about this." Xiunian and Yin Changxing are both from grassroots backgrounds and have a good understanding of the public sentiments of North Korea and Japan. They are sent to accompany the mission mainly as advisers to advise the mission. Diplomacy is not their task. However, such transfers are the internal affairs of the East China Sea Region, and they actually have no right to comment on Shi Diwen's decision.
The next day, at the invitation of Wang Anguo, Tao Hongfang and others went to the temporary residence of the immigrants to check on their training before their trip.
Among the immigrants who were about to follow Wang Anguo to settle on the other side of the ocean, most of them were recruited through various channels, except for a group of technocrats with official transfer orders.
Of course, these people are willing to leave their homes and settle thousands of miles away, not because they admire Tom Wang so much that they want to follow him at all costs. People with that kind of thinking had already followed Tom Wang three years ago. . People who join the immigration team today basically take a fancy to the generous treatment provided by the government, hoping to change their destiny.
"As long as they arrive at their destination alive, everyone will get a place to live, land, and a generous settlement allowance, and they won't have to pay any taxes to the government for the next ten years. If they want to run a farm locally, or something else If they don’t have enough capital for business, we will also try to provide support, such as providing them with interest-free loans, various seedlings, poultry and livestock, in short, we will ensure that they can have a good livelihood.”
While Wang Anguo looked at the immigrants who were learning the deck operation commands, he introduced their situation to Tao Hongfang and others: "We have recruited more than a thousand immigrants this time. Although it is not many, if we can get off to a good start, then In the future, we can slowly build this transoceanic route and continue to recruit immigrants from the country.”
Ning Zijing smiled and said: "Brother An Guo, you really spent a lot of money on your recruitment conditions!"
Wang Anguo responded with a wry smile: "There is nothing we can do about it. Otherwise, who would be willing to drift on the sea for several months and settle in such a far away place? And maybe after going there, they will never be able to return to their hometown again in this life." If the conditions were the same, tens of thousands of people would have been recruited to reclaim the wasteland in Taiwan.”
Compared to areas close to mainland East Asia like Taiwan, the cost of immigrating to North America is obviously much higher. Although the advance fleet has established a firm foothold in North America and established colonial areas, and the development momentum seems to be good, it is still very difficult to attract domestic people to settle there, even if the official promised excellent immigration conditions, and as early as a few years ago Recruitment began across the country months ago, but the number of people recruited in the end was still not ideal.
If you add in the cost of ocean transportation, the cost of recruiting a single immigrant to North America is at least ten times that of Taiwan Island and five times that of the South China Sea. It is still a huge expense. The North American Colonial Zone was only established three years ago, so this expenditure alone must have occupied a considerable part of its financial budget.
(End of chapter)