Chapter 2699
Seeking common ground while reserving differences is easier said than done. The only thing that can be determined at the moment is that the three parties participating in the talks have different interests and aspirations, and they all hope to obtain more benefits for themselves in trade relations.
As the main beneficiary of the trade between Japan and Japan, Tsushima's profit method mainly comes from the trade privileges that have been inherited for generations. Changing the status quo is equivalent to shaking the foundation of the clan. As a vested interest, Zong Xiongtai cannot easily compromise with the other two parties. Especially the North Koreans, who have gradually straightened their backs in recent years, if they make concessions in trade disputes, it may trigger a series of chain reactions that Zong Xiongtao does not want to see.
Busan has a natural harbor, but due to historical reasons, most of its trade with Japan must be handed over to Tsushima. This is equivalent to giving a large amount of profits to the Zong family. It's okay to say that trade was underdeveloped in the past, but now Busan Port has become one of the most important international ports in the region. The scale of trade is constantly increasing, and the wealth flowing into Tsushima every year is even more than that in Busan. Koreans are very concerned about this. Naturally, you will feel very unwilling to accept the current situation.
Wen Zhihong regarded the Haihan mission as a boost and protective umbrella, while Zong Xiongtai tried every means to cut off the relationship between Haihan and North Korea, trying to turn the three-party talks into a one-on-one situation to solve the problem separately. However, the Haihan Mission, which played a leading role in the talks at this time, was not as ambitious as the other two.
The impromptu tripartite talks held in Busan were not among the mission's planned tasks. They were only accepted by the local government as one of the conditions for Haihan to open a special zone in Busan. The mission agreed in order to smoothly promote the implementation of the special zone plan. Of course, this matter did no harm to Haihan. After studying the situation, the mission actually had the intention of hunting down the rabbit. It would be best to get some benefits. Even if the negotiation does not come out in the end, Haihan will not have any actual losses. At most, it will only be delayed for a few more days in Busan.
Tao Hongfang knew very well the thoughts of the Busan government. He wanted to make up for the taxes lost from Haihan due to the establishment of a special zone from Tsushima in another way. Whether Busan and Tsushima can reach a new trade agreement will have minimal impact on Haihan's business interests. Even if they fail to reach an agreement, it will not prevent the implementation of the special zone plan.
As for the attitude towards Ma Fan, it is also unlikely to affect Haihan's trading activities in this area, and Tao Hongfang is sure that Zong Xiongtai, who is sitting opposite, is also aware of this.
When the Kaihan Army attacked the Hirado Domain, the Tsushima Domain was one of the closest bystanders to the battlefield. Even though its jurisdiction was only a few dozen miles away from Hirado Island, it did not dare to send troops to rescue the Tagawa clan in Hirado. The Kaihan Fleet currently stationed in Sasebo conducts cruise training in the Korean Strait at least once or twice a year, and its route will also pass through the waters under the jurisdiction of Tsushima. This means that if there is anything wrong with Tsushima's actions, That's right, the Haihan fleet can appear outside Asu Bay in a very short time.
Therefore, Ma Fan has always been indifferent to the Haihan merchant ships traveling on both sides of the Korean Strait. Whether or not there is a so-called regional trade agreement will not affect the trading activities of Haihan merchants in this area at all.
But if this can be used to provoke a fight between North Korea and Japan, Tao Hongfang would be happy to see it happen.
The feud between North Korea and Japan has a long history, with a fight occurring every hundred or so years. The last large-scale war between the two countries was just over sixty years ago. However, Haihan has never had any intention of letting the two countries live in complete peace. It is in Haihan's best interests to maintain a certain degree of opposition between North Korea and Japan and fight without breaking up.
The interests of the three parties are different, and each has its own agenda. In this case, it is naturally difficult to reach a consensus. After talking for a long time, the three parties were still talking on the same page and were not on the same channel at all.
Among the people present, only Zhu Zian could observe the three-party talks from a completely outside perspective.
Zhu Zian actually didn't quite understand why the mission wasted its time in this muddy water. In his opinion, Tsushima does not have much value, and there are no conditions for bargaining with Haihan. Haihan can completely ignore its existence and let the merchants engage in cross-border trade between Korea and Japan. Haihan could take Tsuima Fan's share, and the other party would not dare to make any mistakes, so why bother to negotiate an agreement with Tsuima Fan to restrict himself. However, after listening for a while, Zhu Zian slowly understood the mission's intention. This was not intended to put pressure on Tsushima on behalf of the Koreans. It was clearly a matter of stoking fire in the middle, exposing the conflict of interest between the Busan government and Tsushima.
However, Tao Hongfang and others grasped the scale very well. They only said some indifferent words and left the main battlefield to the performance of North Korea and Japan.
This side is threatening to raise tariffs, and the other side is going to restrict the scale of trade. If you want to close businesses, I will stop cargo flights. Although both sides have some means of intimidating the other side, they obviously lack the determination to execute them. After all, once trade stops, the economic losses it will cause are inestimable, and the consequences are not something the two of them can afford.
Moreover, Wen Zhihong and Zong Xiongtai are not stupid. They also know that once the two countries start a trade war and impose sanctions on each other, the only beneficiaries will be the Haihan people who are not restricted at all. So even though they were arguing with each other, they were unwilling to push the situation to the point of breaking up.
It was almost noon, and the talks still had made little progress. Zong Xiongtai offered to adjourn the meeting temporarily and continue the discussion after lunch.
However, Zongxiong Tai had no intention of entertaining them as a landlord. He only provided basic lunch to the participants and had no intention of accompanying them.
But this was exactly what Wen Zhihong wanted. Seeing that he could not make progress, he could take advantage of the intermission to communicate with the Haihan delegation and discuss countermeasures.
"My lords, this Zongxiong is stubborn and stubborn. I believe that if we want to achieve results, we must give strong medicine to be effective!"
Wen Zhihong knew that he was unable to persuade Zong Xiongtai to compromise, so he had no choice but to turn to the Haihan Mission again. He also saw that young officials like Haihan did not give their full performance in the morning meeting and did not put enough pressure on Zong Xiongtai. If they wanted to achieve something, it was not enough for Haihan people to show up and they had to work hard.
Tao Hongfang pretended not to understand and asked: "What does Mr. Wen mean by giving strong medicine?"
Although Wen Zhihong knew that words should not be spoken nonsense, but the matter was at this point, how could he give up halfway? He gritted his teeth and said: "You should inform Mrs. Zong Xiong that if you insist on refusing to give in, your country will not rule out the use of military means to resolve trade disputes!" < br>
(End of chapter)