Chapter 2964
Just like in Cambodian waters before, the sudden appearance of the Haihan Fleet in the northern Gulf of Siam also triggered local panic.
Neither the fishermen who went fishing nor the Siamese navy responsible for maritime patrol had ever seen such a large armed fleet, and the fear that arose caused them to turn around and sail to the coast to avoid it.
Chan Thien Don did not care much about the reaction of the local people. He was more interested in the Bangkok area located on the northern coast of the Gulf of Siam. It was a rare opportunity, and he wanted to see with his own eyes what Bangkok was like in the mid-seventeenth century.
But the reality may only disappoint Qian Tien Don. At this time, the Bangkok area was far from being a city. There were only some fishing villages and small markets on both sides of the Chao Phraya River estuary, and the liveliness was even far less than that of Vung Tau Port. It would not be until King Rama I moved the capital to Bangkok more than a hundred years later that this place would become a prosperous coastal city.
The truly prosperous area of Siam at this time was the city of Ayutthaya, which was more than a hundred miles upstream of the Chao Phraya River. However, there was no arrangement to visit Ayutthaya City in the itinerary, and no Siamese officials were notified in advance. Probably there was little chance to see the prosperous side of this country.
The Haihan fleet stopped at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. Although they did not deliberately block the mouth of the river, once the fleet moved there, no civilian ships would dare to enter or leave the Chao Phraya River through here.
But after all, the Chao Phraya River is one of the most important water transportation channels in Siam, and the government's response was relatively fast. It didn't take long for local officials to come to the Haihan Fleet to negotiate.
When the local officials confirmed that the Haihan fleet's intention was not to start a war, they immediately changed their appearance and expressed that they could provide various supplies to the fleet. Of course, such services are not provided free of charge.
In addition, if the Haihan fleet has goods that it is willing to sell, officials can also contact local businessmen to come forward on their behalf.
Obviously, local officials treated the Haihan fleet as an armed caravan. After all, Siam can be considered an open country in terms of cross-border commerce. Merchant ships from Eastern and Western countries often arrive in Siam, and Haihan is one of them.
Qian Tiandun was not interested in commercial activities, but he still asked Li Yuande to come forward to communicate with Siamese officials. After all, he has been here many times and must know the local trade rules better than the military.
Li Yuande's transport fleet did bring a batch of Haihan commodities as emergency needs. However, in order to ensure safety, these transport ships were dozens of miles away on the sea at this time, and transactions had to be postponed until at least the next day. After Li Yuande obtained consent, he agreed with Siamese officials to discuss the transaction details the next day.
"When our country's goods are sold to Siam, we can generally earn a gross profit of more than 40%. However, the voyage from Sanya to here is almost four to five thousand miles, and the round trip takes at least two months. Many maritime merchants are not willing to spend the money. So much time to go to Siam to do business.”
After sending away the Siamese officials, Li Yuande took the initiative to introduce the trade situation here to Qian Tiandun: "Most of Siam's cross-border trade is monopolized by the royal family and the powerful, and there are almost no private businessmen engaged in this field. But this For us foreign businessmen, it’s not entirely a bad thing. As long as one or two links are opened, all trade activities in Siam can be officially guaranteed.”
Qian Tiandun asked: "Aren't you worried about being eaten by local snakes?" Li Yuande smiled and said: "Sir, we are businessmen from Haihan. Anyone who wants to deal with us must first weigh the consequences. Jindun has Several armed merchant ships operate around the Gulf of Siam all year round. Once trouble occurs, they can arrive within seven days. Many matters that are inconvenient for the Haihan Army to come forward are handled quietly by Jin Dun. "
In fact, the situation mentioned by Qian Tiandun also happened in the early years. Some Siamese dignitaries wanted to forcibly rob the goods shipped by Haihan merchants. Although the matter was completed at that time, the shipping business under the jurisdiction of this powerful man could no longer continue.
There is no other reason. Since the incident, this powerful cargo ship has disappeared one after another. After losing seven or eight cargoes in succession, a fool can imagine what happened. I had no choice but to admit that I was unlucky and had to ask a middleman to apologize to the Haihan merchants who had suffered losses before. It took a lot of effort to settle the matter.
The components of the Golden Shield escort are very complex. In addition to serving as bodyguards for caravans overseas, they also take care of the functions of surveying unfamiliar areas, collecting various intelligence information, and doing dirty work for the Haihan Army. It is not uncommon in recent years for Haihan merchants to suffer hidden losses in overseas markets and spend money to seek revenge from Jindun.
And Li Yuande understands the situation so well, because Golden Shield was originally the product of the cooperation between Haihan and Furifeng. Li Yuande's third uncle Li Nai also served as the treasurer of Golden Shield in the early years. As for the deployment of Golden Shield in the South China Sea, Of course he understood it well.
When Qian Tiandun heard this, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "How many troops does Jindun deploy here in the Gulf of Siam? Can the income maintain normal operations?"
Although this is Jindun's business secret, one of Jindun's roles is as a downstream contractor for the military, so there is no need to keep it secret from military generals. What's more, Qian Tiandun is Li Yunde's most admired idol, so he naturally revealed everything immediately.
Golden Shield Convoy actually does not have an official station in the Gulf of Siam. It usually completes supplies and rests in various small countries on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula. There are not many people deployed in the Gulf of Siam for a long time. There are about four to five ships and one or two hundred people in total.
Thanks to the special relationship with the Haihan Army, the ships used by Jindun to perform patrol missions are all retired warships from the navy. Not only are their speeds much faster than ordinary civilian ships, but they also have their own shipboard firepower. Although the number of artillery pieces has been reduced compared to the period when the navy was in service, it is far from what ordinary merchant ships can compete with.
To support such a paramilitary fleet, the expenses are naturally not small. But fortunately, there is a long-term big benefactor in this area, and that is Ambona Island.
As the most famous gold-selling cave in the South China Sea, the income of Ampurna Island has always been astronomical. Although it is not located in the Gulf of Siam, it has many guests from the countries surrounding the Gulf of Siam, including many distinguished figures. . In order to protect the safety of these important guests, it is sometimes necessary to dispatch armed ships with golden shields for escort.
Compared to how much money these dignitaries spend on Ampurna Island, the cost of maintaining the Golden Shield fleet is nothing. Ensuring the safety of the sea lanes in the Gulf of Siam became a side task when escorting important figures to and from Ampurna Island.
(End of chapter)