Chapter 2698
If the cross-border trade activities of Haihan merchants bypassing Tsushima were just private activities before, then Tao Hongfang's opinion on behalf of Haihan officials at this time is to clearly inform the Japanese side of the future trade activities around the Korean Strait. , Haihan will also take a share of it.
Regardless of whether Haihan's true intention is to support North Korea or to seek more benefits in cross-border trade, once he gets involved, it will threaten Ma Fan's trade monopoly in this region. To put it more seriously, this is likely to shake the foundation on which Tsushima depends for its livelihood.
Zong Xiongtai has been dealing with Haihan people in Busan for a long time, and he has a relatively clear understanding of the power of Haihan commercial capital. He knew that in terms of purchasing and sales channels, maritime transport capacity, organization and management, and trade scale, it would be difficult for Tsuima to compete with the powerful Haihan merchants. Its own advantages were only the special trade status obtained by its geographical location.
Haihan merchants established a trade route from Busan to Nagasaki early on, and later opened a route to Osaka and other places via the Shimonoseki Strait. Since Haihan merchants started operating these two routes, the direct economic losses caused to Tsushima have reached hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year.
However, in the face of the continuous erosion of Haihan's business, Ma Fan seemed to have no effective means of resistance other than swallowing his anger. It is absolutely forbidden to use force. The Kaihan armed fleet stationed in Sasebo Bay is no joke. The once prosperous Hirado Port has been reduced to an ordinary fishing port with few people just because it offended the Kaihan people. Although Tsushima Clan had certain economic strength, its military strength was far inferior to that of Hirado Clan in its heyday, and it did not yet have the confidence to challenge Kaihan head-on.
At this time, Tao Hongfang dared to make such a request, and his confidence certainly came from the huge armed fleet parked in Busan Port. When Zong Xiongtai wakes up every day and stands in front of his bedroom window, he can see this oppressive fleet, and even the Haihan flag on the mast can be seen clearly.
Faced with such pressure, how could Zong Xiongtai easily say "no" to the Haihan people.
"First of all, I do not think that the trade agreement between my country and North Korea needs to be renegotiated. If your king has such an intention, he should submit his credentials to our country through formal channels, make detailed requirements, and get our country's After agreeing, we can discuss and arrange the negotiation matters.”
The current response strategy that Zong Xiongtai can think of is to divide North Korea and Haihan as much as possible to prevent the interests of the two from being tied together. Compared with Haihan, at least North Korea's follower will be easier to deal with.
In response to Wen Zhihong's request, Zong Xiong kicked the ball back with a few words - "You must follow the procedure correctly first, and then come to me to talk." Of course, if we really follow what Zong Xiongtai said, the time required for high-level exchanges of views between the two countries would be measured in months. If we really want to achieve results, it will definitely not take more than a year and a half. By then, Tsushima also has buffer time to slowly think of ways to deal with it.
But it would be difficult to use the same method to deal with the Haihan people. Because Zong Yutai has already learned that this Haihan fleet will visit Japan next, and it is said that Edo Castle, the seat of the shogunate, will also be one of its destinations. If nothing unexpected happens, the negotiation on trade relations between the two countries will inevitably become the main topic of this visit to Japan. If Ma Fan does not take the initiative, it may be difficult to intervene in the negotiations between the shogunate and Haihan by then.
"As for the Haihan Kingdom..." Zong Xiongtai glanced at his negotiating opponents and couldn't help feeling a little emotional about the youth of these Haihan officials: "I think the bilateral trade agreement between our two countries should prevail instead of starting a new one and formulating another one. A redundant tripartite agreement. "Haihan and the Japanese shogunate had signed the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce with Japan a few years ago, which confirmed that Japan would open many major ports to Haihan and allow Haihan merchants to engage in trade in these areas. This is one of the most important agreements between the two countries to date.
However, the content of this agreement basically does not involve third parties. It is a relatively pure bilateral trade agreement, so there is no clear definition of the trade activities of Haihan merchants between North Korea and Japan. Zong Xiongtai brought this agreement out to express his position. He was only willing to negotiate terms with Haihan alone, but he could not bring North Korea in to join in the fun.
Wen Zhihong couldn't help but be a little anxious when he heard this statement. If North Korea was kicked aside, all his efforts would be in vain. Without waiting for Haihan to speak, he was the first to respond: "Master of the clan, you may I have overlooked one point. Busan is about to establish the Haihan Exclusive Economic Zone. If there is no formal three-party trade agreement to regulate the business activities of each company, then your domain, and even your country, may have future trade activities in Busan. affected.”
Zong Xiongtai frowned and said: "Master Wen, your statement is a bit unfriendly. It will not help solve the problem between us."
Now that Wen Zhihong had the support of the Haihan Mission, he naturally spoke forcefully. He snorted coldly and said: "Although my official words don't sound good, they are also for everyone's consideration. If we don't make good rules, if there are trade disputes in the future, the clan leader can't do anything." Come and trouble me!”
Wen Zhihong had negotiated with Zong Xiongtai several times before, but he did not get a good look. Although he was not angry, there was nothing he could do to the other party. However, with Haihan helping out in this meeting, Wen Zhihong was not afraid to speak openly. , at this time, he attacked Zong Xiongtai with a gun and a stick, and he suddenly felt very relieved.
He was even a little eager to anger Zong Xiongta and make him refuse to continue negotiations. Haihan has interests in this tripartite meeting. If Tsuima and Fan refuse to negotiate, Haihan will be offended. Once Haihan believes that the problem cannot be solved through negotiation, he will choose more direct and effective means to deal with Tsuima. Become a vassal.
For the Busan government, if there is a better solution than reaching a tripartite agreement, it is of course to completely kick Tsushima out of the game. Without this troublesome middleman in the future, the revenue of the Busan government can easily be doubled several times. Isn't it wonderful?
Seeing that the two parties were at war with each other, Tao Hongfang finally spoke again: "You two, the purpose of our talks today is to resolve differences, not to intensify conflicts. If we can't reach an agreement, I think everyone's interests will be affected to varying degrees. This should be a situation that you two don’t want to see, right? I think it’s better that we each put forward our own interests and then try to find common ground while reserving differences and formulate a plan that is acceptable to all parties. What do you think?”
(End of chapter)