Chapter 2723
Seeing that Yuta Kozaki was still a little hesitant, Shi Chengwu could only continue to put pressure on him: "This mission of our mission to your country will also visit several other seaport cities and discuss with the local officials. Regarding trade cooperation projects, if we cannot achieve the results we expected in Nagasaki, then we can only try to put the resources we have committed to the next few stations. After all, the basic conditions in those places are relatively good compared to Nagasaki. To be even better, there will be excellent development prospects in the long run.”
In terms of the geographical situation of the Japanese archipelago, the Kyushu region is actually far away from the political and economic center of the country and can be regarded as a border of the country, and the location of Nagasaki is even more of a border among borders. But precisely because of this, Nagasaki, located at the western end of Japan, became the first stop for foreign merchants to enter the country, and was officially designated as a port specializing in international trade.
However, the prosperity of Nagasaki is based on commercial activities. It is not a big city like Osaka, Kyoto, and Edo in the traditional sense. It does not have any special products. Its function is just a trading port. Even in the Kyushu region, cities larger than Nagasaki include Fukuoka, Saga, Kumamoto and other places.
If Haihan is willing to invest resources and can get the cooperation of local governments, it is not impossible to support one or two trading ports in Japan with similar functions to Nagasaki Port. After all, the famous trading ports under Haihan's rule have only been in operation for more than ten or twenty years. When it comes to how to build trading ports, Haihan ranks second. Probably no one in the world dares to claim first. .
Shi Chengwu's intention is to let Yuta Kozaki understand that the trade status of Nagasaki Port is not completely irreplaceable. If he is unwilling to cooperate with Haihan, he may have to face the country's newly emerging competitors in the future.
Considering the market share of Haihan-related trade in Nagasaki Port, Yuta Kozaki had to admit that the intensity of Shi Chengwu's pressure was actually no less than a military threat. Not to mention that the trade status is replaced, even if part of the business is taken away, Nagasaki's influence will be greatly reduced, and the consequences will also directly affect Yuta Kosaki.
But despite this, Yuta Kozaki did not relent immediately. Instead, he changed the subject and began to talk about the various benefits and care given by the local government to Haihan merchants, trying to prove to the Haihan mission that the Nagasaki authorities had always been in contact with Haihan. The merchants maintain a good cooperative relationship.
The morning talks did not yield any substantive results, but Yuta Kozaki did not reject the conditions proposed by the mission, so there was still room for maneuver.
At noon, everyone left the Nagasaki Office and returned to the Haihan Chamber of Commerce for lunch. During the dinner, He Li took the initiative to invite Shi Chengwu to participate in the subsequent talks.
He Li was not a member of the mission and had no official status, so he only participated in the morning talks as a civilian. However, in terms of familiarity with the local situation, no one in the mission could compare with him. Shi Chengwu thought about it for a while and agreed to the request. However, he asked He Li to first explain his thoughts and the means he was going to use. Convince the other person.
He Li said: "Judging from the meeting in the morning, it is obvious that Yuta Kozaki still has doubts about the proposal of the Major General. However, I believe there are three reasons for his ambiguous attitude. One is coveting the vision of trade development we promised, and the other is fear of rejection." There will be retaliation in the future. Thirdly, it is not yet possible to confirm whether the attitude of the Haihan merchants will be consistent with the mission. The best thing I can do is to clearly tell Yuta Kosaki that the Haihan Chamber of Commerce will be consistent. We will not hesitate to support the official opinion of our country, and even giving up Nagasaki is an option. Only by stopping his thoughts can we force him to make a decision."
Tao Hongfang asked: "Will this force him to jump over the wall and do something that is not good for us?" He Li responded: "Osaki Yuta is a very practical person. He will not risk his life and property. Besides, even if The mission has left and the Sasebo base is still there, which is enough to scare the local government.”
Bai Letong asked: "But since Japan is implementing a lock-down policy, if we threaten to withdraw from this market, will it not have the desired effect at all?"
He Li smiled and said: "The so-called seclusion of the country is not actually worried about us coming to do business, but worried about Westerners coming to preach and lead the people away. As far as I know, the shogunate's annual income from international trade activities has accounted for About 30% of its annual income, and the number is increasing year by year. If we withdraw, it will not just be as simple as leaving a few businessmen, but will directly bring the country's cross-border trade to a standstill. Even if Yuta Ozaki is not afraid, the shogunate will not. Allow this to happen.”
If the Haihan Chamber of Commerce organizes merchants to withdraw collectively, it will inevitably cause chaos in the Nagasaki market. A large number of local people who rely on trading activities will collectively fall into a state of unemployment, and various rumors will take the opportunity to breed, and may even involve the West. Businessmen also left here to avoid the limelight. At that time, it will undoubtedly be an extremely serious blow to the commercial reputation and trade environment that Nagasaki has finally established.
After some discussion, everyone felt that He Li's words were reasonable. To exert pressure on the Nagasaki authorities without using military means, the only means currently available are trade sanctions, and the statement of the Haihan Chamber of Commerce is of course a very important weight.
During the afternoon meeting, Shi Chengwu indeed pushed He Li to the stage and asked him to negotiate with Yuta Kozaki. He Li did not disappoint him. He said bluntly from the beginning that if the Nagasaki authorities were unwilling to accept the cooperation plan proposed by Haihan, then the Haihan Chamber of Commerce would consider withdrawing from the Nagasaki market collectively at some point in the future and moving to other places. The place engages in trading activities.
After hearing He Li's words, Yuta Kozaki's calm expression finally became a little unbearable. Of course, he knew very well what He Li meant by the situation. Although the other party did not propose a specific time, as long as such rumors spread, it would immediately have a negative impact on local public sentiment. The Haihan Chamber of Commerce does not even need to take actual evacuation actions. Just rumors are enough for the shogunate to hold local officials accountable.
Yuta Ozaki even considered the possibility of Haihan using military means to force him to submit, but he never expected that this method would be available.
He frowned and thought for a long time, but still couldn't figure out a way to solve it. He didn't believe that the Haihan merchants really wanted to withdraw from Nagasaki, but he couldn't let others think so. Once the news spreads, even if only one tenth of the people thinks that Haihan wants to abandon Nagasaki, it will cause consequences that he cannot bear.
(End of chapter)