Chapter 2656
Understanding how Haihan controlled North Korea, Zhu Zian could imagine how Haihan used non-military means to gradually encroach on the southern coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty's national power is far from comparable to that of North Korea, and its influence on the people is even more deeply rooted. Haihan spent nearly thirty years and only controlled the coastal areas. His influence in the inland areas was far from being as obedient as North Korea.
But what he saw and heard now still made Zhu Zian feel a little sour. He thought that when North Korea was dominated by the Ming Dynasty, although its attitude was humble enough, it would never give up these industries that maintain the lifeline of the country. , leave everything to Daming to manage.
But the treatment Haihan received in North Korea was completely different. Not only did they have complete control over these industries, but they also had to decide on the allocation of production capacity and the destination of the products. For example, the steel produced in the Taedong River basin mainly flows to Haihan. North Korea even needs to negotiate to increase production capacity in order to obtain more quotas for domestic use.
Zhu Zian couldn't help but think deeply, what is the root cause of this difference?
"It is an advanced production technology mastered by our country."
After the meeting, Shi Chengwu responded to Zhu Zian's question: "The reason why the North Koreans are willing to obey our arrangements is because the industries we build here far exceed their original level. Even if they can only get some of them Part of it, but the benefits gained from it are also greater than before.”
Shi Chengwu then gave Zhu Zian a brief explanation using steel smelting as an example. Although only 30% of the production capacity of the steel plant built by Haihan in the Taedong River Basin is used to supply North Korea's domestic needs, this 30% production capacity has far exceeded North Korea's national steel production capacity in the past, and there is a trend of increasing year by year.
"North Korea owns half of the property rights of steel plants, a stable supply of steel every year, tens of thousands of industrial workers who have mastered basic smelting technology, and a large number of cheap iron daily necessities and steel weapons and equipment. You would also think that they would choose to follow Have we suffered a big loss from our cooperation?”
Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "The King of North Korea went to our country to inspect related industries before he ascended the throne. He knew very well what kind of benefits he could get from cooperation with our country, and he also knew that these benefits could only be provided to his country by our country. All North Korea and our country The cooperative industries are actually in a similar situation. We provide enough benefits in exchange for their cooperation. This is why you want to know.”
Zhu Zian was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to respond.
According to Shi Chengwu, as both the suzerains of Korea, Haihan did much better than Ming Dynasty.
Haihan not only provided strong military protection to North Korea in terms of national security, but also helped North Korea upgrade many key industries, which were things that Ming Dynasty could not do. In the eyes of the outside world, North Korea may have a pitiful image of being squeezed by Haihan, but in fact this country has benefited a lot from cooperation, at least much better than the period when the Ming Dynasty was dominated.
Shi Chengwu continued: "In the past twenty years of cooperation between North Korea and our country, North Korea has received far more than it has paid, and its national strength has far exceeded that of the past two hundred years. We have trained many capable officials for North Korea, established and trained a new type of army, If the Manchus start a war again, I believe North Korea can handle it calmly. Since there are so many benefits to obeying us, what do you think the North Koreans will choose?"
Zhu Zian said: "Master Shi's words are really like a revelation to me. I have learned a lesson!"
Shi Chengwu said: "Words are unfounded, seeing is believing. Whether what I just said is true, you can observe and verify it yourself in the next few days. The negotiations between our country and North Korea are essentially a matter of distribution of interests. As long as all parties are taken into account, "The next day, the Haihan delegation and North Korean officials began to hold talks in Gyeongbokgung Palace. The content of the talks focused on topics raised by Haihan, which were basically related to cooperation projects between the two countries.
As Shi Chengwu said, the focus of the discussion between the two parties is mainly on the method and proportion of benefit distribution. Haihan needs various raw materials, cheap labor and unrestricted markets provided by North Korea. During the cooperation process, Haihan will import Haihan's financial, trade and other institutional standards to North Korea. North Korea needs Haihan to provide help in industrial management, production technology, personnel training, etc., and it must strive for more production capacity from some cooperation projects for domestic demand.
The eldest son Li Bai, who was sent by King Li Xie to supervise the formation, rarely participated directly in discussions. This may be because he had limited knowledge of related industries, so he was warned by the king in advance and behaved very cautiously. Park Hongye, the leader who presided over the talks, became the focus of the meeting, and he controlled almost every issue.
The talks between the two parties are based on cooperation, so there will be no tense scenes. However, the Haihan Mission is almost entirely composed of young officials, and most of them are engaging in such diplomatic negotiations for the first time, so they can't help but behave a bit stiffly.
Fortunately, there is still Fu Li, an old Jianghu, who will guide the atmosphere in a timely manner and control the pace of the negotiation in his own hands.
The day's talks were mainly focused on the exchange of opinions between the two parties, and no substantive agreement was immediately reached. Only the cooperation intentions for several projects were basically agreed upon. However, neither party to the negotiation has any intention of a quick resolution, so there will be no dissatisfaction with the negotiation process.
Of course, it was Zhu Zian's first time to participate in such a diplomatic activity. After his conversation with Shi Chengwu last night, he also focused more on examining the relationship between the negotiating parties.
As Shi Chengwu said, the essence of the meeting arranged by both parties was to discuss the distribution of interests, and they both stated their respective interest demands straightforwardly. It was more like a bargaining between businessmen than a diplomatic negotiation.
What surprised Zhu Zian a little was that Haihan did not use his status as the suzerain country to suppress the other party from accepting his conditions, at least not verbally. Although the North Koreans showed a very humble attitude, they did not back down at the negotiation table and still insisted on their demands. He originally thought that the negotiation process would end quickly in a one-sided situation, but this was obviously not the case.
During the break in the negotiations, Zhu Zian mentioned his feelings to Shi Chengwu and expressed his confusion about the persistence shown by the North Koreans. Because in his opinion, North Korea will eventually obey Haihan's arrangements, and such persistence is in vain.
Shi Chengwu smiled and said: "If they give in too quickly, they will not be able to gain benefits. They must show persistence in order to gain something. This is true whether it is for the country or themselves."
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(End of chapter)