Chapter 2700
Tao Hongfang just smiled when he heard this and did not respond to Wen Zhihong immediately. But Ning Zijing beside him could no longer hold back and asked with a cold face: "Master Wen, are you teaching us how to do things?"
Wen Zhihong heard that his tone was not kind and quickly denied it: "Master Ning, don't get excited, I have no such intention!"
Military threats are of course the easiest way to see results when necessary, but this is Haihan's most valuable weapon, and its use is not without taboos. If it is used too frequently, the deterrent effect will definitely be reduced. What's more, the cost of using military means is extremely high. If Haihan's major interests are not involved, there is no need to launch a war machine.
This huge fleet that came to Busan Port with the Haihan Mission was powerful enough to defeat the small Tsushima Domain, but once the fleet was put into combat, the daily cost would be calculated in units of 100,000 yuan. If the goal is to destroy the opponent regardless of cost, as in the attack on the Hirado Domain, then there is no need to worry about military expenditures. But if the goal is only to frighten the opponent into submission, the cost will be too high.
What's more, whether Tsui Ma Fan surrenders or not will not really hinder Haihan's trade activities in this area. The mission currently has no intention of taking further high-pressure measures to deal with Tsui Ma Fan.
Tao Hongfang raised his hand to stop Ning Zijing from continuing the debate, and said to Wen Zhihong: "Master Wen, the proposal to hold three-party talks was proposed by you on behalf of your country, and we have also cooperated. Since we need to use the method of negotiation I think we should not give up halfway to resolve trade disputes, let alone start a war easily, affecting the operation and development of Busan Port. ”
When Wen Zhihong heard this, he understood where he had gone wrong. Haihan now has a large number of industries in Busan. If he starts a fight with Tsushima, it will inevitably interrupt the trading activities of Busan Port, which will also affect Haihan's interests. For Haihan, it is not difficult to weigh the pros and cons of whether military means are needed against Japan.
Only then did Wen Zhihong realize that he had misjudged the situation before. Haihan was not as enthusiastic about the talks as he had thought, because in the expected course of the talks, there seemed to be no one that was particularly beneficial to Haihan. result. In other words, Wen Zhihong made a mistake in the order of who should eat meat and who should drink soup in this matter. He only wanted to achieve his goal and pocket all the benefits, but Haihan had no expectations. Naturally, he is unwilling to play out all the cards in his hand.
Wen Zhihong was not a fool. After he came to his senses, he immediately began to try to remedy the situation: "My lords, our two countries have always been in the same spirit and are as close as brothers. We should have a unified voice and a unified approach to the outside world. If I have any consideration, I will not Zhou Zhizhi, I hope you will not hesitate to give me some advice, in short, you can’t let outsiders take advantage of me.”
Of course, there was no need to say who the outsider was. Wen Zhihong took the initiative to lower his profile. Tao Hongfang did not want to say something too harsh. He thought about it before replying: "Master Wen, there are many uncontrollable risks in using military means. It may even go against our original intention of solving the problem, so it is better to use trade means to resolve trade disputes as much as possible.”
Wen Zhihong said: "But now the other party refuses to give in at all, and even won't give your country face. What should we do?"
Tao Hongfang still had provocation in his words, and without revealing his intentions at the moment, he continued: "Master Wen, do you know what is the key to Ma Fan? It is the monopoly position in the trade between Korea and Japan. You only need Think carefully about what kind of method can be used to bypass Tsushima to achieve free trade with Japan, and it is practical and can force Zong Xiongtai to make concessions." Tao Hongfang stopped abruptly at this point. No further details were given. If Wen Zhihong had enough understanding, he would naturally be able to understand what he meant. If you still can't help them at this level, then there is no need to talk about cooperation.
Zhu Zian, who had been listening attentively, almost blurted out, thinking that this is not easy. Ma Fan's trade monopoly only applies to Japan and Japan, and Haihan will not be restricted by it, so he only needs to transfer all imports and exports of goods to Japan. By giving it to the Haihan Merchant, or simply naming all North Korean ship sailors under the name of the Haihan Merchant, wouldn't it be possible to easily bypass the Tsushima Domain?
But what is very simple for Zhu Zian may not be so for Wen Zhihong.
Didn't Wen Zhihong think of this method? Of course not. As the parent official in charge of Busan, he was naturally very aware of the shortcomings of Ma Fan's monopoly on trade between Japan and Japan. He had thought about how to break the old system more than a thousand times and seek freer trade rights for himself and Busan.
It is of course a very direct and effective way to hand over the trade with Japan to the Haihan people and have Haihan transport all kinds of goods to break the monopoly of Ma Fan, but if you think about it carefully, it is not really effective. Change Busan's situation in North Korea-Japan trade.
As a result, the relationship between Busan and Tsushima will inevitably become tense, and it may not necessarily save much money. Wen Zhihong has been dealing with Haihan businessmen for many years and knows that this group of people is extremely realistic and extremely shrewd. If he takes the initiative to hand over the management rights to Japan to them, a new monopoly situation will be formed in less than two years. By then, the proceeds from the trade with Japan will just flow from the hands of Tsushima to the pockets of the Haihan people, and only a small proportion will probably return to the Busan government.
There is still a way to sit down and discuss terms with Tsushima, but if the Haihan people monopolize the trade with Japan in Busan Port, will Wen Zhihong still have the confidence to bargain face to face?
And having said that, as the trade agent designated by the Japanese shogunate, Tsushima's status cannot be changed unilaterally by North Korea and Haihan. Many goods produced in Japan still need to go through Tsushima before they can be exported to North Korea. Even if Haihan had a foot in the trade between Korea and Japan, it would not be able to completely replace Tsui Ma Fan. This was also the reason why Tai Ma Fan was unmoved by the "smuggling" behavior of Haihan merchants in the Korean Strait in the past few years. .
Therefore, for Wen Zhihong, his hard work is to take the initiative in the trade between Japan and Japan. Although this alternative plan has certain feasibility, once it is implemented, the initiative will be handed over to the Haihan people, and the situation will change. The trend is likely to get out of control, and it is completely unpredictable what the situation will be like.
Wen Zhihong was wary of this, but he was unwilling to give up. Tao Hongfang's words have already made it clear to him that if this plan is rejected, the Haihan people will probably not provide him with any more help in this meeting.
(End of chapter)